My name is Emily Nichols and I am a member of the class of 2019. I run the 300m hurdles, 400m dash, and 4x400m relay for St. Charles East HS (IL). While I like to consider myself a versatile runner that can do most sprinting events, these are the ones I choose to specialize in. The outdoor season of my junior year was the first time I had ever run 300m hurdles. I was previously a jumper and wanted to focus my training there until I realized my potential in the hurdles, so then I made the transition. Without much training, my first 300m hurdle time was 48.31 seconds (hand time). After seeing how well I did my first hurdle race my coach and I decided to dedicate most of my time to improving my form and technique in the hurdles while also training and conditioning for the 400. This led to me qualifying for the state meet in the 300m Hurdles at the class 3A sectional with a time of 46.17 seconds. As far as academics, my GPA is a 4.8/5.0 and my SAT is 1150. I mostly take math and science classes and plan to major in medicine. One of my academic goals is to improve my SAT score because it doesn’t match the work I put in inside the classroom.

My motto in life as an athlete and a student is “make it work”. This means that when something isn’t going your way or you’re in a tough situation to make the most out of adversity and disguise your disadvantages as advantages. To me, this also means to keep trying and never give up. This framework helps me be a good teammate and student because I can adapt well, work well under pressure, and “roll with the punches”. I am reliable and someone to come to in time of need because of my philosophy. Transitioning into the classroom setting, “making it work” helps me balance both athletics and school work. Both disciplines combined add a lot of pressure, but I never let that intimidate me and I make it work and also take my failures as lessons. For example, the first semester of my junior year I had a lot on my plate. I was running varsity cross country, working a part-time job, and struggling to balance three AP courses without a study hall or lunch break. I was very overwhelmed and didn’t know how I could make it work, but I did. I had to quit my job and I dropped a class so I could take a study hall to get a break in my day. With this, going into my second semester I was much more well-rounded and understood my limits of how much I could handle. Going to college, this is an important key factor I believe every student should have. 

Overall, I’d be a great addition to any track team with my potential and the room I have for growth. Also, with my “make it work” philosophy, I’m an ideal student and teammate for any school. For more information, please email me at emilynichols2019@gmail.com.