Mia Kauffman '19 Recruiting Profile

I didn’t really intend to love track. I just happened into it. I played lots of other sports growing up, and in every one, people told me, “you should run track.” So, in high school, I decided to give it a try. I thought I might have some success, but I never imagined that running track would become so important. I never thought I would LOVE it.

Being a track athlete gives me confidence and perspective. My school is small, and our team does not have the depth to win big trophies. So, I learned quickly how to motivate myself and my teammates to work hard for the sake of improving and running our best in select events. Staying committed to a goal and working hard to improve gave me personal strength and confidence that I use in other aspects of my life. Now, I love being the underdog!

In addition to valuable life lessons, running track also gives me an outlet to handle the stress of school and other pressures. Running helps me develop perspective. Because I intend to pursue a career in medicine, being a track athlete at a strong academic college is an important component of that goal.

This is why I want to attend college as a track athlete at a school which provides the opportunity to succeed in both academic and athletic arenas. I seek a college with challenging academics, a strong community and team spirit and where athletes are integrated into the college environment. Through its struggles and adversity, my high-school experience has prepared me to be a team-oriented, strong and successful collegiate athlete.