My Carolina Experience: Sam Lewis
January 6, 2016 | Swimming & Diving
My Carolina Experience
By Sam Lewis, UNC Men's Swimming, Class of 2016
Hello fellow Tar Heels!
I am proud and excited to have the opportunity to describe to you what my Carolina experience has meant to me. Carolina provides its student-athletes with one of the most well-rounded college experiences in the country, and it has been an honor to wear the famous interlocking NC logo for the past three years.
At the beginning of my senior year of high school in Alpharetta, Ga., I set up recruiting trips to five schools, with UNC being the third. Even during my short time on campus, I felt the sense of community that all Tar Heels love to brag about. I loved it so much that as soon as I received an offer to swim at Carolina, I canceled my final two recruiting trips and accepted the opportunity to be a student-athlete at UNC. I knew that being a Tar Heel was something I could carry with me for the rest of my life and I didn't want to miss out on that opportunity.
During my sophomore year, I took my first computer science class. I was immediately hooked. Programming is a perfect combination of creativity and logical problem solving that I truly enjoy. I am currently enrolled in Advanced Web Development and I can confidently say that web development is the career of my dreams. UNC has one of the best Information and Computer Science schools in the country, and if I hadn't had the opportunity to come to Carolina I may have never even known about my passion for programming.
Athletically, Carolina provides an experience that is rivaled by very few other schools. All of the teams here not only strive for excellence, but also often reach it. I have been swimming for 15 years, but one of my favorite swimming memories comes from my freshman year at UNC. The first night of the ACC Championships only has two events on the schedule, and they are both relays. This makes for an extremely exciting and pressure filled first night. That year, I was on the 200-yard medley relay. I'll never forget the silence in the natatorium while the national anthem was played, followed by the roar of cheers and yells from every team in the ACC as we got ready behind the blocks. Our relay only consisted of four swimmers, but every guy on our team felt the same drive to succeed regardless of who was swimming at the time. We set a school record in the event and the whole team was ecstatic. This experience showed me the value of coming together with a group of people to reach for something that you couldn't reach individually.
Carolina is a truly special place for student-athletes, where we are held to high standards and we are also supported every step of the way to help us reach and exceed our goals. While we are initially recruited for our athletic ability, UNC provides a balanced experience that ensures we will be successful here as well as for the rest of our lives.
Thank you for all of the support that you give us, and Go Heels!
Players Mentioned
