After being listed in the Time Magazine “Time 100” most influential people of 2018, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim saw an exponential increase in her presence in the public eye. She went from an elite athlete, with the goal to simply represent her country on the international stage, to a gold medallist who inspired a nation. Kim attributes much of her success to her parents, who she considers to be her biggest fans. Her parents put everything they had towards their daughter, who used that as motivation to pursue her dreams as an Olympic level athlete. This type of training is not easy, and the phrase ‘Never Give Up’ gave Kim all the tools she needed to become a highly driven athlete, and more importantly, student.
The Olympics weren’t the only goal that Kim had, as she applied and was accepted to her dream school – Princeton University. At the point of acceptance, she decided to take a leave of absence to pursue her academics at the Ivy League level. For Kim, attending her dream school was anything but simple. She had to adjust to being constantly stared at, talked about, and regarded as the Olympic gold medalist, rather than a normal college student. It is clear that attending college as an elite athlete is not an easy journey. Kim says, “to anyone that’s here at Princeton and sees me in the dining hall of anywhere, please just remember that I’m a human being and I want a true, fun college experience”. Her call out to future and present students is indicative of the impacts that exclusive athletic identity can have on future career planning in university students, making it difficult for them to exist on campuses and attempt to have a normal college experience.
MeaghanB
Sport, Not Games ⚽ 