Elijah Chen '20 Recruiting Profile

Water. Simple, yet elegant. I’ve lived my entire life with fiery passion for the waves rolling onto the sandy shores and the vibrant blue of a sunlit indoor pool. Since the day I first touched the foamy ocean waves, I fell in love.

I am very mixing pot California. Bleached blonde hair from the pungent chlorine, and optimism warm as the golden Cali sun. My life is built upon four central pillars. Human connection is the greatest blessing this world has to give. Swimming offers a silence of mind, as the only thing we hear are our bodies gliding effortlessly through the water. Nature displays the beauty and complexity of the natural patterns of life. And music has been a part of me since day one, seeing as my mom is a professional pianist.

Swimming seriously didn’t come around until Freshman year of HS, despite being on a team since age 11. I always believed that my destiny lay elsewhere, in the beat-up baseball mitts, spikes of track cleats, the swoosh as a basketball kisses the net or even the armor of football pads. But being late to the game never stopped me. In one year’s time, my 200fr went from 2:06-1:51; my 100 from :59-51; my 50 from :27-:23. Along the way, I have bested my doubtful teammates one by one, the look of shock on their faces became delicious vengeance.

I currently look towards the future as I plan on educating future generations. I already coach a swim team at age 16 and hope to become a history teacher in the years to come. Swimming for college has always been a dream of mine, and I hope to fulfill all three of these aspirations.