Avery Gephart '20 Recruiting Profile

I am currently a senior at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Every day, I have enjoyed going to school and learning. This started in elementary school, where I attended Sorensen Magnet School for the arts and humanities. This curriculum significantly engaged me in learning.  During middle school, Lakes Magnet school had a focus on math and sciences. In each school, my knowledge expanded my interests on each side of the spectrum. 

Throughout my schooling, I have always excelled in the sciences, mainly in biology and environmental sciences. Through my strong interest in the sciences, I see myself studying in a field of natural sciences as an undergraduate, and then with that experience, I expect to determine the exact field of scientific study where I will want to further my education by getting a Masters and Doctoral degree. Currently, I am looking at genetics as one of the possible career paths.

Even though I enjoy science, I also have excelled in the arts, literature, and humanities. I started playing the Cello in 5th grade, and I intend to minor in Music. When I was 12, I took an online summer World History class so I could start learning the Spanish language a year earlier in middle school and will have taken 5 years of Spanish before I graduate from high school. With my experience in Spanish, I would like to travel abroad to Spain so I will be able to become fluent and learn more about the Spanish language and culture.

In collegiate swimming, I am looking forward to becoming a part of the team community and improving overall as a swimmer. I would like to compete at a higher level of swimming not only to contribute to my self-improvement but to my teammates as well.

Every day, I go to practice with a smile on my face. Positivity is a very important element of an athlete’s career. Positivity is what defines the good athletes from the great. To have a positive outlook on something can greatly affect an athlete's character. For me, I think being positive is something that sets me apart from other athletes. Many other athletes that I know frequently look at things as if the glass is half empty instead of the glass being half full.

Not only do I try to carry that positivity in my sport, but also in my work and academics. I became a ski instructor at age fourteen to teach young children the life-long sport of downhill skiing. Being passionate about skiing is an important skill even when the weather is not a cooperative learning environment for young children. In my academics, I find many students have an aversion to school and learning. However, I look at school and learning differently. I see it as a choice. You can either choose to want to learn or not. I keep a positive attitude to help balance between school, my family and friends, work, and swim. I carry that zeal because I love to learn about the world around me including academics, improving my swimming strategies, and helping others learn the freedom and exhilaration of skiing.