Elizabeth Shaffer '23 Recruiting Profile

For as long as I can remember, I have had a passion for swimming.  I enjoy the challenge of the sport that requires great discipline combined with a drive for excellence every day.  I began swimming when I was 8 years old on my local swim team, North Hills Aquatics.  I quickly became known for my work ethic and dedication.  I excelled in the breaststroke and mid and long distance freestyle qualifying for USA Swimming Zone meets and Sectionals meets. 

 I began my varsity high school swimming at North Hills High School and earned the Rookie of the Year award.  After my 9th grade year, my family moved to a new school district in 2020, and I changed teams to swim with Pine Richland Aquatics and Pine-Richland High School.  This was a difficult transition because our team was shut down and had reduced practices for 2020-21.  During this time, my love for swimming and drive for excellence carried me through as I independently sought out other venues to train myself and continue to improve.  I practiced on my own at a local recreation center pool which gave me the opportunity to meet and train with Masters level swimmers which was a great inspiration and encouragement to make connections with women continuing to pursue competitive swimming throughout their lives.  I also pursued open water swimming and I ran cross country for my school when our swim team was shut down.  I worked hard and made our high school varsity cross country squad which was our Section Champions that year.  Once we were able to get back in the water with our team, I continued to adapt and push my limits.  Despite limited pool time and adjusting to a completely new training program, I improved my times in 2020-21 and then again in 2021-22.  

I am known by my peers as a leader on my team as I seek not only to improve myself but also to inspire and encourage my teammates to improve.  When our team was shut down due to COVID I encouraged my teammates to continue training and to join me at a local pool writing workouts for us so we could continue to pursue our team goals.  It paid off as our 200 medley relay team set a new team and pool record in 2021-22.  We also had more women's state qualifiers than our team has had in over 10 years.  I swam the freestyle leg of this really.  We also had our 200 freestyle relay qualify for the state championships (I was the anchor leg of this relay).  I was overjoyed to attain my own personal goals and our team goals of placing at our WPIAL Championships (100 breast 6th place, 200 medley relay 3rd place, 200 free relay 9th place), qualifying for the State Championship (100 breast-17th place, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay).  I also improved my times in the 100 breast, 200 breast, 100 free, and 50 free with a highlight of attaining a Futures time cut in the 100 breast. 

I was awarded the "All-Out Award" and the "Team Motivator Award" by my varsity team captain in 2021 and 2022.  I am also honored to have been elected by my peers to be the Varsity Team Captain for 2022-23.  I look forward to leading our team to even higher goals next year and I am eager to continue to train and challenge myself and others to be my very best every day.

My commitment to excellence is also demonstrated in my academics and leadership in my community.  I am ranked 1st in my class, and I scored a 1540 on my SATs and 5's on my AP tests thus far.  I am a leader in my community through my volunteerism and desire to build up those around me.  I have over 140 volunteer hours during my high school years, and I founded and directed an engineering workshop for middle school students called "Crossing the Rhine with Caesar" which explored bridge engineering principles within historical context Ancient Rome.  I also did countless volunteer service projects through Teen Leadership Project, a mission outreach program of the Human Formation Coalition providing leadership development for teens through team building and community service.  I am a member of the National Honor Society. I look forward to continuing to use my skills and knowledge for the benefit of others.  

Lastly, I recently received the great honor of being named a Coolidge Scholar receiving a merit-based presidential full-ride scholarship for 4 years of undergraduate study to any college/university of my choice.  I am honored to be recognized by the Coolidge Foundation and look forward to the leadership training that I will gain through their program.  (https://coolidgescholars.org/about/currentscholars/)

I am excited to continue my competitive swimming career in college and look to continue to improve in the sport of swimming as well as to be an excellent team member helping others to improve as well.