I think it can be intimidating at first reaching out to brands , um , but I think as you go , you get better at it , you get better at knowing kind of how to You know , communicate your personal brand and your story . I would say everyone has a super valuable experience and super great things about them , and so just being able to kind of figure out how to best um present yourself . Some advice I would give students who are looking to compete at the Division One level is just making sure you're reaching out to coaches , Um , and like I said , presenting yourself in the best manner possible , being very respectful , controlling what you can control , I think is super important .
So , I would emphasize keeping an open mind when speaking to coaches and looking at schools . I also think it was really valuable for me to go on unofficial visits in the summer before I went on any official visits , as it gives you a good sense of the campus , and you usually get a chance to interact with the coaches a bit as well . Um , when you go on official visits , I find that it's super valuable to spend as much time with the team members as possible .
It means so much to me . Um , I think over the last year or so , I've had the chance to both coach at the club team that practices here at Northwestern , as well as mentor younger athletes through another service and Just being able to interact with them , share my experiences so that they can learn from myself has been just so incredibly valuable . I really want to give back to the sport because it's given me so much in terms of just who I am as a person , as well as the as well as the friendships I have .
I also think it was really valuable for me to go on unofficial visits in the summer before I went on any official visits , as it gives you a good sense of the campus , and you usually get a chance to interact with the coaches a bit as well . Um , when you go on official visits , I find that it's super valuable to spend as much time with the team members as possible . They have a lot of really great insights and can offer different perspective than the coaches can , and so they're always very open to answering questions .
I've learned so much from all my coaches and teammates . I think the biggest thing I've learned from them is to really enjoy the process . I think a lot of times we get really focused on The time and like the final outcome or our place and a race , but I think when you really focus on enjoying the process , enjoying working hard , enjoying getting to be with your teammates every day , that's what makes it so much more fun , as well as you're more likely to have a good outcome in the end .
