Liam Baez-Terry '18 Recruiting Profile

My interest in running started in middle school.  I had just moved from my very small hometown of Bethel in rural Alaska to Anchorage and I felt like running back home.  That was actually impossible as there are no roads to Bethel, you can only get there by plane or barge in the summer.  Fitting in has not been easy for me, I am shy by nature and when I arrived in middle school I had to get out of my shell to build new friendships. This challenge has helped me understand that even though I may feel different than many, I have to continue to work on understanding myself and to grow not only as a person but also as an athlete. My freshman year of high school has been the most formative of my cross country running career so far. That year I pushed myself to move up it from C team to Varsity team, that was a great accomplishment.  I have learned a lot from being on the team and what it means to be a team player to my fellow runners and my coach.

In my personal life, I live in a cross-cultural home.  My father is from Louisiana, my mother from central Mexico and my stepfather from Bolivia.  I attended 7^th grade in Mexico living with a family and attended Catholic school.  This was not an easy year for me as I felt often lonely and had to learn Spanish but I made some friends, learn some Spanish and made the best of the experience. I have experienced struggles in middle school and high school like any other teenager but when I run I feel strong and energized.  Being part of a team provides me with structure and focus and pushes me to give back and contribute. I consistently work on improving my performance and seek the guidance of my coach to accomplish this and not let my struggles bring me down. I am committed to running and focusing my strength to learn and improve my performance.

Career-wise, at the present time I am not sure what major I will be pursuing, I have an interest in avionics, history and computer game design, this can change as I get more exposure to other fields and discover new interests.

During college, I want to continue my running career and be part of a cross-country and/or track and Field team.   I have much to learn to improve my performance and become the athlete that I know I can be, I want to spend my college years obtaining a degree while pursuing my passion for running and growing as a member of my college team.