Skyler Kieffer '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Skyler Kieffer and I am a junior at Edina High School in Minnesota. I first started swim team when I was nine as an off-season sport to soccer. I quickly fell in love with swimming and balanced competing in the two sports for four years before ultimately focusing on swimming. I love swimming because it is the perfect place for me to channel my competitive spirit, I am able to continuously improve both my strokes and my times, and I get to be part of a team. After a successful high school season, I am more excited than ever to pursue swimming at the collegiate level.

When I think about why I would be an asset to a collegiate swimming program, I think about how my strengths as a swimmer and as a person line up with the characteristics I’ve seen and looked up to in past teammates. As a swimmer, I am committed to striving for success, dedicated to continuously improving, and willing to take on the hard work necessary to meet both personal and team goals. I would describe myself as very coachable; I listen carefully to tips and feedback from my coaches and try hard to implement their suggestions. I’ve also been told I perform well under pressure. As a team member, my strengths include being easy going and having a positive attitude. Being easy-going helps me to get along with everyone, appreciate the fun and unique characteristics of my friends and teammates, and look beyond the various challenges of some personalities and/or situations. I try to approach life with a positive outlook. A positive attitude helps me to be flexible and adaptable when difficult situations arise on a team, in school, and in life. As a team member, I also try to learn from my teammates and lead by example. Having participated in varsity sports as an underclassman (8^th and 9^th grade), I was fortunate to be able to observe various leadership styles, feel how good it felt to be mentored and included by more experienced athletes, and come to understand the importance of leading by example. Now, as a junior in high school, I am able to practice my leadership skills by demonstrating strong character, positive attitude, and commitment to my teams.

While the opportunity to swim at a collegiate level is important to me, gaining a high quality academic experience is also very important to me. Throughout my high school experience, I have participated in many challenging classes (AP and enriched classes) and have been especially proud of my success in those classes. While my course work has been heavy at times, I enjoy the learning, the challenge of the material, and the feeling of achieving success in my classes.