“I’ve been swimming for three years. I like swimming because it’s different than other sports. It’s a personal thing. You’re not relying on other people; if you mess up it’s only your fault. It’s helped me grow out of my comfort zone and meet new people. I really like going to meets because you get to hang out with your team and meet new people. It’s fun because you can beat your times and see how much you’ve improved.

I went to the U swim camp to get better at swimming. Every day we worked on different strokes and we did a lot of technique stuff so that when you’re racing then your stroke is more efficient. My friend Lily already knew some of the people from swimming. You meet them at the big meets. We stayed in the dorms and made a lot of new friends with the people in the room across from us. We snuck into each other’s rooms.

It was really fun because we got to walk around the campus and learn about the U. I thought it was all really new and looked really nice. The grounds of the University were very impressive. I thought everything was super clean and very well-kept.

It was a great experience because you get to be away from home for a week and meet new people and you’re still learning about your sport and getting better. The athletes were very impressive with their work ethic and devotion to their school and sport. I’d really like to come to the U to be a part of a team like that.”

— Eden Flake, 13, attended a swim camp at the U in June 2017