to pay

And then I got an email back, and I was in California getting recruited. So it happened really fast.”

Although the process of joining a college team is stressful, studentathletes have a built-in community and support network once they start college.

“There’s a ton of things that I’m looking forward to, but the coach is one of the biggest ones. He was super supportive throughout the whole recruiting process… he just truly believes in me, which is a really good feeling going into a school rather than just going into a school to score points,” said Sophie Pierce (12). He’s a very genuine guy and sees a lot of potential in me, and believes in me. So I think the coach and just the team atmosphere, it seems like a great group of people, and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

Being on a D1 team in college is a massive accomplishment and time commitment-- not only do athletes have to balance their schoolwork and grades but also their performance on a team.

“From what I’ve heard, being a D1 athlete is a fulltime job, and it’s hard to juggle the sport and the school, but the school and team fully accommodate and help you throughout.”

Urbanowski said, “I’m putting myself through this, but I want to, and I’m excited to swim, so I feel like it’ll be easier to manage in terms of my attitude, hopefully.”

Not only is a team a great source of support, it’s also a great place to meet new people.

“I know going into college can be a really hard thing when you don’t know anybody. So having a team already set makes it, I think, a lot less scary to start the college experience,” said Kyla Stroker (12).

Not only is joining a college team exciting, but getting to play a sport that they love for four more years has been important to these Fairview athletes since they started high school.

“I love the competition and the team atmosphere. Being able to be part of a team and have goals that you can accomplish it’s very rewarding,” said Sydney Inman (12). “I’ve wanted to be a part of a team since I started the recruiting process my sophomore year,” Most of these athletes never hesitated about whether or not they wanted to pursue their sport in college.

“For me, I’ve always wanted to play,” said Shane Williams (12).