MAKING WAVES: You could say Emily Love ’09 has spent the past four years in the fast lane. She first arrived at Vassar with a passion for drama and a desire to take her swimming to the next level. She took it to the next level – and beyond – rewriting the college record books in the pool and as an All-America swimmer. Now, as a senior, Love is pouring her energy into another passion: teaching children with special needs.
Emily Love ’09, two-time All America swimmer and co-captain of the women’s swim team, talks about the academic, athletic, and extracurricular balance at Vassar.
During her first meet at Vassar, Love, who started swimming at nine, dropped four seconds off her best time, narrowly missing a national cut. The next year she qualified to compete against the nation’s top swimmers in the NCAA Championships. That same year, she not only reset the Liberty League record by over two seconds, she also created a new New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association mark in the 200 backstroke and became the first ever Vassar swimmer to qualify for a USA National Championship meet. Love was also honored as Vassar’s first All-America swimmer. The next year, she finished as a two-time honorable mention All America in the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle and a first team selection in the 200 yard backstroke.
“I was so excited freshman year, but I had no idea that sophomore and junior years would be even better,” says Love. “I never in a million years thought I would be an All America. At the time, I didn’t even know what the title meant.” Modest about her achievements, she is quick to credit those who have encouraged her. “Lisl [Prater-Lee] is an amazing coach, and if I’m feeling defeated, she recognizes it quickly. She’s the best I’ve had.” She describes her family as “very aquatic” and they often drive from Connecticut to watch her meets. Her parents and sister were involved in swimming and diving, and her brother, who has Down Syndrome, is a gold medalist swimmer in the Special Olympics.
Out of the pool, Love has kept busy as a student fellow and house intern working with students to ease their transition to Vassar and to serve as an academic resource. “Vassar is such a student-centered campus,” she says, “and I like being a part of that and seeing how it all works.” She has also kept in touch with her passion for drama by trying out for a play every spring semester. “Originally I wanted to study drama,” she explains. “As an athlete, all the programs at other schools wanted me to choose a less timeconsuming major. I need to be at a place where my studies are valued, and that’s what attracted me to Vassar.” As a psychology major (she’s also working on her certificate in early childhood education), she has tutored at a local elementary school, helping students with reading and writing. In the summer, she coaches kids at a Nike swim camp.
Looking back on all she has accomplished in the last four years, Love continues to seek out new challenges and opportunities and is considering pursuing a master’s in deaf education, while coaching on the side. “I really learned who I was with the other swimmers, and swimming has taught me balance and that I’m much more focused than I ever thought I could be,” she says. “I’m really happy with the strides I’ve taken, but I don’t think it’s done here. I want to keep getting better.”