Player Profile: Emma Gould

Image courtesy of Catholic University Athletics Department

By Angela Hickey

After capturing its first landmark conference title, the Catholic University Women’s Swimming and Diving Team has made great strides to keep its winning streak going. One of the freshman team members, nursing major Emma Gould, was ecstatic due to the team’s recent win.

Originally from Brick, New Jersey, Gould, competing mainly in the freestyle and breaststroke events, has been swimming competitively since she was seven years old. She was encouraged by her doctor to swim due to her severe asthma, hoping it would open up her lungs and lessen her symptoms.

At the beginning of the school year, the transition to college life was rather difficult for Gould. She missed her family and friends. Especially missing the New Jersey atmosphere she’s known all her life.

“I was used to living in a small town by the ocean and going to a small high school with a little over a hundred people in my graduating class,” said Gould. “It was hard for me to adjust to living in the city and not being able to see the faces of the people that are most important to me.”

Gould feels the team has been great for her overall college experience, stating how it made her transition into college life all the more enjoyable.

“Before coming to college I was extremely anxious. I was so worried that I would have a hard time adjusting. Swimming made my adjustment too easy and I think it has caused me to like college as much as I do.”

Now in her second semester, she finds herself in a much more comfortable position and happy in her decision to attend CUA. By venturing into the city and spending time with her friends, she has adapted well to the D.C. environment and college life. Some of her pastimes include spending time with friends, shopping, and going to see the monuments and museums around the city.

Besides swimming, Gould hasn’t had the time to join any other extracurricular activities. But now that the season is over, she’s looking forward to balancing out her schedule and “joining clubs and other activities.” 

During the conference championships, Gould competed  in the 100-freestyle, taking second place and taking home a silver medal with a time of 58.84. 

When asking about how she enjoys swimming for CUA, Gould expressed how she “really enjoys the environment.” Her favorite part of being on the team is the constant support and drive the teammates have to push each other and help each other through difficult times. 

On the swim team’s recent training trip in Florida, she ran into many personal struggles, describing how difficult it was to get through certain sets, 

“My teammates, however, would remind everyone we could do it and if we put the work in now, we could win conferences and we wouldn’t remember the pain that we were feeling.”

Between her nursing work and participating in a sport, Gould sometimes has a tough time managing her heavy workload. She says she’s now managing her time rather well and always tries to stay well prepared for classes and on top of her work. 

“There are also a couple of other freshman nursing majors on the team, so we will do our work and study together.” 

After the team’s recent win at its first Landmark Conference Championship, Gould was very excited and proud of her team.

“This year we all worked extremely hard whether it was at lift or in the pool.” said Gould. “All season we focused on winning conferences so, it is awesome to see that all of our hard work and effort was worth it.”

Gould fully supports joining a sport in college. She believes it helped her to meet new people and  get involved with and adjust to campus life.