Brooke Buchanan '19 Recruiting Profile

I have been a competitive swimmer since approximately the age of 5-years old starting on the Sierra Silver Fins Swim Club in Tollhouse, California.  We live in a rural mountain community in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2,600' elevation on 5 1/4 acres; above the larger towns of Fresno & Clovis.  I'm a mountain girl, and they say around these parts that mountain girls are tough.  Maybe we are tough because there is snow on the mountains when we are practicing swimming and water polo in our outdoor pool.  

Our community is small and in my Senior year, we've fallen to below 400 students at Sierra High School.  As compared to Fresno & Clovis teams that we compete against, we don't have year around club teams or AAU swim programs to compete in.  I anticipate that my swimming times will come down further this season as they have in the past; I so I believe my 100-yard Butterfly time should be 1:05 or slightly lower by the end of competition for the 2019 season. 

I swim, play water polo, belong to the Sierra Silver Fins Swim Club in the Spring & Summer and workout in the Winter to stay in condition for my aquatic sports.  I have been Varsity swimming & water polo for four years.  I've been the Most Valuable Swimmer for my Sophmore & Junior years for Sierra High School, making it to Valley Finals for the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section in 100 Butterfly and last year for Freestyle.  I have also been the Captain of my water polo team at Sierra High School for the past two years, receiving the Coaches Award and All-League for the Central Sequoia League in 2017; this season is still ongoing in 2018.

I am of a diminutive size for aquatic sports, at 5' 1" and 105 lbs.  My parents have always taught me to give my personal best; it's not about what other people do, it's about my knowing if I gave my best effort in swimming and water polo.  My Dad is a retired law enforcement leader for the State and always told me about no pain-no-gain; as well as that pain is weakness leaving the body.  Early on, I sucked at competitive swimming as I wasn't blessed with natural attributes that would make me do better for my size.  As the years went I, it became apparent that hard work and attention to the skills necessary to be successful enabled me to rise to the top of the competition in my region.  While I won't be going to the Olympics or even competitive at College Division I level swimming; I have the drive and competitive spirit to outdo those who fail to achieve their potential.  I am a driven and competitive athlete who wants to do their best at whatever athletic endeavor I choose to pursue and I'm a team player; which is why I've been our Varsity water polo team Captain for the past two years at Sierra High School, for the Lady Chieftains.

Additionally, I tried out for California State Parks as an open water lifeguard at Millerton Lake State Recreation Area at the age of 16, the earliest you can get hired.  The Lifeguard program is certified to USLA (United States Lifesaving Association) standards; meaning that I had to complete a 1,000-yard open water competitive swim in under 20 minutes and a 400-yard run-swim-run in under 10 minutes in frigid water.  I did both competitive elements in well under the required times, interviewed for the job and was conditionally hired to attend the Bootcamp style training that I was sent to in 2017.  The USLA certified training was extremely difficult and challenging both physically and academically.  During my time as California State Parks Lifeguard, I've performed CPR, operated a bag-valve mask on a victim and have been on a dive-line for the recovery of two drowning victims.  I perform my Lifeguard duties from one of the Lifeguard towers on the beach, patrol on a personal watercraft (PWC), patrol by a vehicle with a rescue board on top, or patrol the lake with one of the State Park Peace Officers, upon completion of my California Boating Skills tests through the California Department of Boating and Waterways.  I am certified through the State as an Emergency Medical First Responder.

In addition to the sports that I play, I have been a coach for the 5-6-year-old age group of the Sierra Silver Fins Swim Club that I still swim competitively for.  I love teaching the younger kids, just as others my age helped give me the love and passion for swimming competitively.   It is not about how everyone else does for the kids I coach, but did you improve and did you get a personal best time.  learn to have fun, try new things and show continuous improvement; enjoy the time spent with your teammates.

I'm looking at college sports to give me the ability to pursue my passion for a career in a space-related engineering field.  My parents need financial assistance in being able to send me to college outside of California, to a school of my choice and don't want me to take on financial debt in doing so.  My first choice is Aerospace Engineering/Astro-Engineering, totally towards the space side of the field.  I have always had an interest in space, since building model rockets with my Dad and launching them; to viewing the stars from our mountaintop home through a 6" reflector telescope.  I subscribe to Astronomy Magazine and have just begun subscribing to Sky & Telescope.   Space is a barely explored frontier for humankind and I want to be a part of contributing to that exploration in some fashion.  So while I will be a good athlete and give my personal best in competition; my true passion is to become Doctor Brooke Buchanan in a profession exploring the universe.  

Hopefully, my chosen school will someday say with pride Dr. Brooke Buchanan swam or played water polo here; maybe not the greatest athlete, but giving pride back to the school through a successful career that the college afforded me through playing sports.

I hope that you will find me to be a worthy candidate for your program and a consummate teammate for the team members and coaches.