Emma Whitner's Blog
Monday, December 17, 2018
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Being A College Athlete- The Most Challenging & Rewarding Both- Says Emma Whitner!
Being A College Athlete- The Most Challenging
& Rewarding Both- Says Emma Whitner!
Karen Carter
Press Release
Media Contact: 513-226-5542
Being a college athlete is one of the most
challenging, yet most rewarding things a person can do. You practice 20+ hours
a week and there is certainly no skipping practices (except for illnesses,
injuries, or emergencies of course). Besides practicing and competing, you must
also take on a full course load and maintain a good enough GPA to keep your
place on the team.
Any high school athlete who is thinking
about college athletics must prepare themselves to not only excel in their
sport, but in their education as well. College is a whole different ball game
than high school (pun intended). However, people who work that hard to reach
their goals in athletics are typically just as dedicated in all aspects of
their life.
While playing a varsity sport in college
can be challenging, it is also extremely beneficial. You learn responsibility,
time management skills, tenacity, and great leadership skills, to name a few. Of
course, I cannot forget to mention the potential of receiving scholarship
money. Additionally, it never hurts to have college athletics listed on your
resume when it comes time to apply for a job after college.
Emma Whitner is a sophomore varsity diver
at the University of Florida. Emma set a goal to dive in college while she was
in 8th grade and she worked hard enough to achieve that goal. In
addition to diving, Emma maintains a near-perfect GPA, is a member of the
Student Athlete Advisory Committee, held a summer internship position this past
summer at a real estate company, and outside of college life, she is a
debutante. Emma says she has diving to thank for her outstanding college career
thus far.
“Being an athlete my whole life has taught
me how to set goals and achieve them. It has also driven me to be the very best
person that I can be.”
Emma diving during the 2018 SEC Championship meet
If you have the option of participating in
a sport in college but you are on the fence, you will have to decide if it’s
right for you. If you know that you can handle the course workload along with
long hours of practicing, then you should consider the positive impact it can
have on your future.
Learn the experience of being a college
athlete from the Emma Whitner Florida- A UF Diver! She says being an athlete my whole life has
taught me how to set goals and achieve them. It has also driven me to be the
very best person that I can be.”
Monday, November 26, 2018
10 Meters Diving Tips and Experience
Karen Carter
Press Release
Media Contact: 513-226-5542
A lot of people are scared the first time
they jump off a high dive. Most of these high dives are only 3-meter springboards.
Now imagine not only trying to jump off a 10-meter platform, let alone dive and
flip off one. I think most people would get to the top of the platform, look
down, and immediately turn around.
I know personally, I have only been given
the opportunity to jump off of a 10-meter once in my life. Most pools only open
these boards for diving teams or special occasions. The reason I was allowed to
attempt it was because I was lifeguard at a pool with platform boards and we
were allowed to try on our last day. I remember jumping off the 5-meter was a
piece of cake and was actually really fun. I thought that two meters more
wouldn’t be too difficult, so I climbed the stairs up to the 7-meter. I felt
sheer terror looking down at how far away the pool was from me. After debating
with myself for 5 minutes, I decided to just jump. It was a rush!!!!
Finally, I had worked my way up and it was
time to conquer the 10-meter. I climbed all those stairs to the top and walked
out onto the platform. I became increasingly aware of how close I was to the
ceiling. I slowly walked to edge and looked over down to the water. One look
over the edge and I was climbing back down the stairs, defeated. I’m not even
scared of heights but free falling from that height was terrifying to me.
I couldn’t even bring myself to THINK about
jumping off that height, yet divers are doing it every day with ease. I am
always impressed watching the Olympics and seeing divers get on the top of the
10-meter, do a handstand on the edge, and then push themselves off into a sequence
of flips.
This made me wonder what goes through a
diver’s head when they get up to that height. Are they scared? Or is it
something they get used to quickly?
I spoke to University of Florida diver,
Emma Whitner, to see what she had to say about the platform. While Emma mostly
competes on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, she has still had her fair share of
10-meter dives. Whitner started diving off the 10-meter when she was 14 years
old after joining a new diving team in Orlando, FL.
“It was very scary at first. Even jumping
off the 10-meter feet first was intimidating, but you start with the basics and
build from there. Eventually, it gets easier and easier until it really isn’t
scary anymore,” says Emma.
The dive that Emma competes off of the
10-meter is a back 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists, meaning when she gets to the edge of
the platform, she has to stand backwards and flip off.
“Any fear that I had up on the 10-meter
went away after 2 or 3 dives. Sometimes I still get scared trying a new dive up
there but the fear isn’t as bad as my first time. You really do get used to it
and it’s not so bad,” she says.
While this is reassuring, I still can’t say
that given the opportunity, I would be able to jump off a 10-meter board. I think
I choose to continue watching people dive from the safety of the ground.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
The Best Buddies Program
The Best Buddies Program
Best Buddies International is a nonprofit
organization creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships for people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. This organization serves people
with Down Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and others.
Best Buddies is a great program because it
helps people with disabilities form meaningful relationships with their peers
and help them feel included. Not only is it great for the students with
disabilities, but it very rewarding to the volunteers as well.
College sophomore Emma Whitner participated
in this program while she was a high school student. During her junior year,
she and another student volunteer were paired together with an entire middle
school class so she had the opportunity to work with multiple students. During
her senior year, she had the same system but was paired up with a high school
class instead. This is one way the Best Buddies program works, but volunteers
may get paired up one on one with someone as well.
Best Buddies International not only offers
these friendship programs, but they also offer leadership development and
integrated employment opportunities as well. The purpose of the leadership
development program is to allow people with special needs to gain public
speaking skills and confidence. The employment program seeks to find jobs for
special needs people to suit their interests and talent.
If you are looking for a volunteer
opportunity in your life that is rewarding and fun, Best Buddies International
would be a great program to look into. Not only will you be positively
impacting a person’s life, but will you will make lasting friendships in the
process.
Labels:
Best Buddy,
Charity,
Diving,
Emma Whitner,
Florida Athlete,
Program,
Sports,
Sports Debute,
Swimming
Location:
Jacksonville, FL, USA
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