Alek Barba '14 Recruiting Profile

Swimming has always been a part of my life since I started during elementary school. During High School, swimming became more than just a past time of mine.Rather, it became part of who I was and my High School experience. My school is small, so the team consisted of around 12 people with only around an hour of practice every morning. After getting 2nd-Team All-State my Senior year I knew I had some potential, and I wanted to see if I could cultivate and develop it. Swimming in college would be more than just a chore. Rather, for me it would be an opportunity to see how far I can push myself and challenge myself physically. I've never had the chance to fully dedicate myself to a sport. Academics always got in the way, and in my opinion, once day practices for barely over an hour didn't allow me to achieve what I believe I can. College is already going to be challenging academically, but I want to allow myself to develop more as a person and see how much I can achieve if given the chance. 

My college goals are to push myself as far as possible on a physical level, learn a new language (I'm thinking German,) and grow more as a person through personal development. I have always taken the hardest courses my school has to offer, and I've taken over 30 credit hours at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW is the parent school of my High School.) I am familiar with some of the rigor and dedication that is a fundamental part of college classes.