Rachel Hall '20 Recruiting Profile

I have been competitively swimming since I was 7 years old. Swimming is a fundamental and necessary part of my life.  I’ve competed every year for my school or club team since starting organized swimming.  Swimming has taught me a lot about myself, discipline, and what is necessary to succeed in life.

As a 5’4” swimmer, I’ve had to work hard, in and out of the pool, to remain competitive.  I’ve learned that hard work and a positive attitude overcomes many obstacles and I plan to continue to apply this work ethic to be successful in collegiate athletics and academics.  I am considered a leader on my high school and club swim team and was elected captain of the high school team by my teammates for senior season.  I am a supportive teammate and have earned the respect of the team via my hard work, positive attitude, and consistent performance.

I have been a member of the Tupelo High School varsity swim team since 9^thgrade, my first year attending the school.  I have won multiple events at regular high school meets and competed in the North Half and State Championships in each of these three years with multiple top 5 finishes in individual and relay events.  It is my goal to continue to improve upon these performances in my senior year of high school and at the collegiate level.  My times in core events have steadily improved over the last three years and I fully expect that trend to continue.

I am a year-round competitor as a member of Tupelo Shockwave and train for both short and long course events.  This is the fourth year in a row that I qualified to swim in the State Championships (long and short course) and made finals in 5 out of 5 individual events in the most recent long course State Championships. 

Along with challenging myself in the pool, I also like to be challenged academically.  I am currently taking AP courses offered at my school and have chosen the AP version of a class 9 out of 10 times when offered at my school.  I have maintained a 3.97/4.00 GPA and am currently ranked 30th out of 487 students in my grade.  

My academic performance has come from significant effort.  I was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 16.  Since my dyslexia was only recently diagnosed, I’ve had no learning support throughout my academic career.  It’s only been through hard work, perseverance, and excellent time management that I have been able to succeed in both academics and athletics.  I would not have had academic success without swimming teaching me about discipline and perseverance.

I plan on studying Physics, with a concentration in quantum mechanics or astrophysics, and continuing my education through the PhD level. My two passions are physics and swimming and I am seeking a university that will challenge me in both.