Devaughn Robe '22 Recruiting Profile

My personal statement

Over the years of my life I have heard the same phrase for as long as I can remember

“Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability”, that is my school motto and what I have adopted in my life since I was six years old. My goal is to excel in all I do and swim to the best of my ability. I believe there's no limit to what one can achieve, and the only limits are the ones you set on oneself.

I have been swimming competitively for 9 years and have represented my country Jamaica  since age 12. Over the years, swimming has taught me many life lessons such as: hard work isn't immediately rewarded, so patience and resilience is key to succeed in any and every  aspects of life, whether academics or sports. Also that balance is key, and as a student-athlete I have learned that very well over the course of my life, you cannot have one without the other. If the grades aren’t good then no training and if you put all your focus into swimming and neglect other responsibilities the grades will fall. The solution is to not cut down on any of the two but to strike a balance, limit distractions and get priorities straight in order to get the best of both worlds.

Swimming as other things do, comes with challenges in and out of the pool. My challenges were

due to covid and Osgood–Schlatter disease. Due to Osgood–Schlatter disease I couldn't kick for about half a year and had to wear a leg brace for that period of time which limited the amount of physical activity I could do, I was eager to get back to training but I knew the best solution was rest and ice. After the rest, I went back to training and trained hard. Similarly with covid but instead I had to substitute the pool training with other activities, mainly land training runs, core and gym work.

My aspiration in this sport is to become the best there ever is, I don’t have a noble complicated goal like leaving an impact or inspiring the younger generation and continuing a legacy, I want my own legacy, create my own story so one day the world will know my name if it ends up in leaving a positive impact etc. then that’s a plus. Every athlete dreams to attend and podium finish at the World Championship and Olympic levels and I am no different.

I should be your choice as I am clear about my goals and know what needs to be done to

achieve them and will do whatever it takes and make any sacrifices necessary. I am looking

forward to training in a new environment, a new perspective, with new training partners that will

challenge and push me to achieve greater goals. I will always show up, not just for myself, but

also for my team.

I am ready to be taught, ready to learn, ready to be trained, ready to reach my best.