Ashlyn Penas (Swimming & Diving, University of Nebraska at Omaha) grew up in Lincoln. HelloNation asks student athletes one question about the place that raised them and records the answer on camera. This is Ashlyn Penas’s, in full.
The question
Tell us about a teacher or mentor from high school who challenged you the most or inspired you in a way that still shapes who you are today. Who are they, and what lesson from them do you carry into your life now?
The answer, as recorded
Transcript. What follows is a transcript of the video above, in Ashlyn Penas’s own words. It has not been rewritten, and no part of it was drafted for them.
One memory that I remember from my high school club coach, Sam, was when I was swimming at sectionals the summer before I went off to college. After my two-month break I was a little nervous to get back into the pool and especially do meets because I didn't know how that amount of time off of training would affect me. But however, I actually ended up having a really good meet and I remember standing on the side of the pool with Sam after my race and he just told me that I made the right decision to come here. And that validation just felt so good because I was so stressed about it. And so he's really with that after that we would joke around a lot we would just have fun and it truly helped me then use that as I went to college about just having fun and giving other people reassurance and validation when after their races and stuff like that or when we have a really hard practice. And so I just really have learned so much from him.
Recorded by HelloNation as part of its athlete voices program and published by Hello Newswire, HelloNation’s good news newswire. The words are the speaker’s own.
Reported by Hello Newswire.