Natasha Paciello '21 Recruiting Profile

I am looking for a college that will challenge me academically and athletically while helping me become the best version of myself. I have a competitive nature and am driven to do my best in swimming and in school. One of my strengths is my work ethic and ability to motivate myself to set and achieve my own goals. I never like to give up and I don’t stop until I've reached my goal because I know how amazing it feels for my hard work to pay off after I accomplish what I’ve been working towards. Throughout my experience in swimming, I discovered that having a positive attitude and truly believing in myself can really play a role in how I perform when in the pool and I think that it is important to encourage my teammates to also have positive attitudes. My competitive drive to win and always wanting to be better than before has definitely helped me get to where I am today and accomplish my swimming goals.

Outside of the pool, I love volunteering at my church’s elementary school religious ed. program and I spend the summer assistant coaching for my local summer swim team. Being around kids, helping them grow, and seeing the smiles on their faces makes me truly happy. My friends describe me as having a contagious smile and always being able to cheer them up with my humor and positivity.

In school, I am able to hold a 4.03 weighted GPA. Doing well in school has always been important to me and my family. I work hard while putting in the time and effort needed to keep my grades up. In addition to school and my club swim team, I also dedicate a lot of time to my high school team. Although we are a small team, we are all super tight-knit and like a family. Through support from my coaches, teammates, and family, I was able to set the girls 100 breaststroke school record as a freshman and I contributed to the girls 200 freestyle relay setting a school record my sophomore year. I also qualified for states both freshman and sophomore year in the 100 fly, 100 breast, 200 free relay, and the 200 medley relay. All of this resulted in me earning MVP for freshman and sophomore year. I am extremely thankful for my coaches who believed I could do what I thought I couldn’t and for my parents who kept pushing me to do my best. With this continued support and motivation, I am confident that I can push myself to accomplish even greater things throughout my junior and senior years.