Gracie Paterson '17 Recruiting Profile

I have been competitively swimming for about 10 years now, and my goal for swimming has always been to do what it takes to better myself in and out of the water. If there is anything I have learned from swimming it is the importance of humility and perseverance. I struggled with my own arrogance for many years when I was younger and it took many trials and failures to make me realize that I am still not where I want to be athletically, and that improving myself was not a journey I could take alone. I am now very grateful for those trials throughout my swimming career because they not only made me a better athlete, but a better person. As an athlete competing at the college level, I would want my teammates to see me as a leader, as a person who is dedicated to her own goals but also to the team. My teammates are decidedly the biggest factor in what keeps me going and training the way I do, so I know the importance of supportive teammates. To me, swimming is a nearly nonnegotiable part of my college experience, I want to continue competing. I am willing to put in the work, athletically and academically, to do what it takes to make that dream a reality.