Ceyda Sarak '23 Recruiting Profile

Hi there! My name is Ceyda Sarak. I am part of the class of 2023 at Mountain Vista Highschool. Currently, I have a 4.0 weighted GPA including honors and AP classes. I swim for the highest level practice group for HRA, my club swim team. I also swam for Mountain Vista Highschool in the Varsity team my freshmen year, however, I was not able to swim for MVHS this year due to Covid-19 restrictions. My favorite events to swim would be the 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, and 100 backstroke. In total, I have swum for about 9 years, starting to swim competitively at age 6 when I lived in Istanbul, Turkey.

I am originally from Istanbul, Turkey, where I was born and raised until the age of 9. My parents made a decision to move to America for a year but soon made to choice to live in Colorado after my twin sister and I loved living here. Of course, the language barrier was a tough challenge to pass through, but I was able to succeed. I was almost fluent in English after 9 months by giving my best effort to understand what was going on in class and reading tons of books. I understand the feeling of not "fitting in", therefore, I plan to help similar people feel confident in the future.  This has taught me the importance of being brave and having confidence. I believe I can support and encourage individuals to be their true selves no matter who or where they come from. Currently, I am fluent in Turkish, English, and am learning Spanish at my high school. 

Swimming not only taught me leadership and teamwork but also the great value for positivity. Starting to swim at a young age has shown me that being a leader is important both in the water and in life. I understand that a leader needs to be responsible, have empathy, and focus. Without these characteristics, a leader would not be successful. Growing up, I have been responsible for my school work and workouts. I have empathy for everyone because I believe that without empathy, the world would be a very cruel place where people were enemies of each other. I have focused on school and swimming and managed my time so I would have the same amount of effort given to each. A team cannot function without teamwork. I have always supported my teammates and made an effort to motivate them to reach their goals. Although these are great things swimming has taught me, I believe that being positive and being able to keep that positivity is going to be the source that pushes you to your dreams. Throughout my swimming career, I've experienced losing motivation and a lack of wanting to keep going. However, I learned that finding grit and positivity in you, will block all those negative thoughts and create a force in you to keep going and to keep trying harder. This has helped me more than I count and I truly believe it will help other athletes as well. 

I am looking forward to swim for a college as a leader and as a team worker. I am dedicated to not only achieve my goals but also help others reach their dreams as well.