I love to be outside hiking, mountain biking, running, climbing, and skiing. I’m the youngest of four, the baby. I love to pick on my older siblings, in particular Ashley since she’s closest in age to me; they say old habits die hard and this one sure hasn’t slowed down. My siblings are my best friends. Growing up, I was very introverted and preferred to stay in my room. Luckily, I found sports to exhaust my energy and social-battery.
I swam competitively for over a decade. I joined a local swim team when I was eight and finished my swimming career at the Women's Big Ten Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan my senior year of college. I poured my heart and soul into the sport. School and swimming consumed me, waking up at five in the morning to drive to practice then go to school for eight hours and then return to the pool for another two hours. It gave me a solid foundation for structure where I had to manage my time to finish homework and take care of myself. I learned to make sacrifices, many of which included declining invitations to hang out with friends because I had to wake up early or I was out of town for a swim meet. I have learned many lessons from swimming; some I’m still learning, even after being done with the sport. They have translated in all aspects of my life.
In the past year, I have been able to explore my other passions. I reconnected with mountain biking and climbing. I love the thrill of adrenaline while mountain biking and the cardio it demands. From climbing, I’ve fallen in love with how present I am. I need to be aware of all parts of my body to position myself to go up a route. A new activity I got more involved with was backpacking. In February, I went on a winter backpacking trip in Iowa with a club on campus. The temperature got down to a low of 16 degrees Fahrenheit and I froze the entire night. All night, I guessed what time it was, hoping it was at least four in the morning, so I could get out of the tent and restart a fire. This past Spring Break, I co-lead a trip to Bentonville, Arkansas to mountain bike and I got to improve my camping skills using a Whisperlite to cook meals. Some other hobbies include yoga and running.
My brother Max and I have grown a lot closer since I moved to college. We’re so similar in personality, interests, and boredom; it’s quite scary. When I was younger, the two of us fought so much. Mind you, he’s 13 years older than I am. Anyways, I’m happy that we don’t fight as often anymore and that I can appreciate our shared interests. He’s very adventurous, traveling to paraglide in Nepal and take photos of penguins in Antarctica. So, I’m trying to catch up and go on more trips with him!
I’ve also been able to seek out my interest in teaching and working with kids. I worked as a tutor in a middle school and a high school in Madison for the past two semesters. Mentoring kids is very rewarding to me because I remember how malleable I was in my pre-teen years. It’s special to be able to talk to students who wouldn’t acknowledge me in their classroom six months ago.
As far as engineering goes, I majored in mechanical engineering and completed a certificate in computer sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I don’t have a clear vision on what I’d like to do with my degree or what type of job I want. I’d like to combine education and engineering in some capacity, but I don’t know what that looks like yet.
Away from intense physical activities, I enjoy finding peace in reading books and drawing or painting. Recently, I started reading memoirs; the latest one was Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. I highly recommend it to everyone. I also want to experiment more in the kitchen, but I’ve been telling that to myself for years. I always cook the same meal on Sundays for the whole week: rice, sweet potatoes, and broccoli with tofu; it’s absolutely delicious!
I guess if you’ve made it this far, I don’t have much more to say other than thanks for reading!
