Nicholas Gerda
Should NYU faculty and their dependent children receive full tuition remission?
Sophomore Kelly Dietz took a long but worthwhile journey to get to NYU and become the diver she is today. Though Dietz was born in New Jersey, she moved to northern Virginia early in her life, where the roots of her successful athletic career were planted.
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"When we moved to Virginia, I told my mom I really wanted to do the summer pool thing," Dietz said. "So we tried to find a pool that had a diving team. I was convinced that was what I wanted to do."
Dietz was a member of the diving team for all four years of high school and even qualified for state championships three times. When she graduated, Dietz began studying at Southern Methodist University in the fall of 2008.
But after just one year of small town life, she yearned for the big city lifestyle and wanted to go somewhere she could truly display her diving skills. Dietz made the decision to transfer to NYU, where she could complete a cinema studies major in CAS and compete on a swimming team that needed a star diver.
Almost two years into her collegiate career, Dietz is happy with her athletic progress.
"I feel like I've definitely grown a lot," she said. "Last year [at SMU] I was doing a lot of dives I did in high school."
What started as a simple summer activity has led to a collegiate lifestyle decorated with first-place scores, NCAA recognition and notoriety as one of the UAA's best performers. Last week, Dietz was honored as the UAA Athlete of the Week for the seventh time this season.
Dietz strives to bring energy to every meet and to back up that energy with equally outstanding scores. Her teammates have clearly followed suit; they bring a positive attitude to every meet.
"I love the team, and everybody's been inspirational during meets," she said. "It's just a great feeling."
Dietz has made an impression on her teammates and her head coach, Lauren Beam.
"Kelly has been a huge asset to our program this year," Beam said. "She is very consistent and is able to perform every time she gets on the boards."
Dietz hopes to attend law school after she graduates from NYU. But for now, she is helping the university set the league standard for diving achievement. The Violets are 8-1 this season, and with Dietz in the pool, the team hopes it will keep improving.
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