Hard work, dedication paying off for Smith in the form of perfect GPA
Maintaining a perfect GPA for four years while double majoring and having to attend early morning swim practice hasn't been easy for Nancy Claire Smith, but she's earned a 4.0 through discipline and hard work.
Each Sunday during the 2016-17 school year, the Carson-Newman athletic communications department will shine a spotlight on a current or former Carson-Newman student-athlete looking to tell a tale of life outside of his or her respective sport.
Smith is in her fourth year as a member of the Carson-Newman swim team and is one of six student-athletes who have been with the program since its inception in 2013. During her time on the team, she's won events, set records and was named an All-American last year as part her squad's 800 free relay team. Even with a long list of accomplishments to her credit, Smith is at least as accomplished as a student as she is as an athlete. For all four years she's been on campus, she's maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. "She encompasses everything that being a student-athlete is all about," Swim Coach Jordan Taylor said. "She pushes herself to get better every single day. She has a purpose in everything she does. She wants to achieve the highest level in the classroom just like she does in the pool." Smith says having an immaculate GPA wasn't something she planned on when she enrolled, but maintaining it has become a priority. "Now," she says, "it's at the point where I want to keep it because I've come this far."
Once practice ends at around 7:45 a.m., it's off to get breakfast and, of course, coffee. At that point, her focus shifts to the day that lies ahead. "I try to plan things out so I can get work done throughout the day," she says, "but every day is different. For instance, today I have a take home test due at midnight. In my mind, I'm like 'I have a class at 3 p.m., followed by practice at 4:30 p.m. and then I have time for dinner and I have to lift tonight at 7 p.m.' So I'm thinking, after this interview, I have to work on my test, and then I can go to class, come back here for practice, have dinner, lift and then work on it again." When you have so much to do, it helps to have a plan and each night, she has to make sure she's keeping up with her classwork. "There's always something," she says. "That's one of the things I realized about college. There's never a day when I'm like 'Oh, I have no homework'. There's always something in the back of my mind where I'm like 'I need to be doing this.'" Even with so much on her plate, Smith makes sure she finds time to unwind. "'I go to events on campus or hang out with friends." she says. "I'm still able to take breaks and have fun."
For Smith, her workload is part of double majoring. The Franklin, Tennessee native is studying both Biochemistry and Religion and she came to choose each subject in very different ways. "In high school, I really liked chemistry," she says. "I saw it as something I enjoyed and was good at. I saw biochemistry as a way to look at chemistry, but in a practical manner. It's also a hard major and I thought it would be a good way to challenge myself." The path that led her to religion was quite a different one. "I'm a Christian," she said, "and I love studying the Bible and I took an introductory religion class. After my freshman year, I went to South Africa for 10 days. It was a mission trip/study abroad. We were learning about African spirituality and cultural anthropology. I was learning a lot about their culture and how their spirituality is different. We also did missions and helped with kids clubs. I realized how much I loved studying this, not just for me but more so to be able to share it. I want to know to talk about it, as well as how to talk about science and religion together." In both subjects, she appears to be acquitting herself quite well.
As she's continued to excel academically, more and more, Smith is received recognition. She's been an Eagle Scholar for all four of her years at Carson-Newman and was a CSCAA scholar All-American as a sophomore. Following the 2015-16 season, she became Mossy Creek's first female student-athlete to be selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Division II At-Large team. One of her greatest accomplishments as an Eagle came last March, at the NCAA Division II Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, where Carson-Newman was competing. Smith was given the Elite 90 award, which is given out by the NCAA in each sport to the student-athlete competing at the finals site who has the highest cumulative GPA. Smith was first person ever from Carson-Newman to receive this award. Even as the honors keep rolling in, Smith has a very modest view on it all. "It's not about an award," she says, "as much as it's about the experience of knowing you did your best and seeing progress and getting better. The Elite 90 award was big because I was really surprised by it and it happened on my birthday and was really fun. The experience, though, generally means more than the award." According to her coach, Smith's focus has never been on how much recognition she could receive, it's just come with territory of being an outstanding student. "She doesn't do it for all the awards and accolades," Taylor said. "The Elite 90 award wasn't her goal last year. She won it because she has the same drive and determination in the classroom as she does in the pool. She sets the mark for our team. You don't need to just be good in the pool or in the classroom, you can do both. The recognition she gets along the way is well deserved."
It's the fourth year at Carson-Newman for Nancy Claire Smith and it's been four years she's put to good use preparing herself for life after college. The hard work she's put in has certainly paid off. "It's always been about doing your best," she says, "whether it's in swimming or academics." Whatever she wishes to accomplish after college, it would seem to be foolish to bet against her. "Her goal has always been to do the best she could in the classroom and give an honest effort of herself," Taylor said. "She's always tried to maintain the highest GPA possible because she knows that's the key to the rest of her life. I know she's still not sure of exactly what she wants to do after college, but she'll have the opportunity to do whatever she chooses."
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