Northfield High School ’22
St. Olaf College ’26
Paige moved seven miles from her high school home to go to college but is enjoying life in a whole new world. Paige looked at many different schools initially and thought “I want to get out of Northfield” but after research and visits, found St. Olaf to be the perfect fit for her. She decided to swim in college because she has been swimming since she was 7, it’s been such a big part of her life and she cannot imagine not swimming in college.
We had a chance to talk a little about the differences between high school swimming, club swimming, and college swimming; Paige found college swimming is very similar to club in intensity, yardage and sets designed for specific races.
When it comes to balancing her school, social, and swimming life Paige mentioned that she has a close group of friends that are also her teammates so that encompasses many of the social activities and once you get into a schedule with swimming and school, managing that is n’ot terribly difficult either.
Like most college swimmers, Paige enjoyed the annual training trip to Fort Lauderdale! Even though there were challenging practices, it was great to swim outside and enjoy a little change of pace with long course. The one change she did find is that being away from home, she must be more responsible for making sure she has enough food around and takes advantage of her meal plan fully to ensure she has the nutrition she needs for swimming. Paige is very happy she chose swimming in college and attending St. Olaf College.
Advice for athletes thinking of swimming in college: Look at many different types of colleges and see what you like and use that knowledge to help guide your decision.
Advice for soon-to-be Freshman swimming in college: Go out and do things. Take advantage of clubs and activities offered and consider studying abroad!