🏊‍♀️ Keeping Up With The Freshmen: Amelie Lessing

Kansas swimming and diving had one of its most successful years in program history in 2019-20. In this latest series (Keeping Up With The Freshmen), we talk with the 2019-20 freshmen student-athletes to discuss how their first year of college went and what they learned over the course of the season. Amelie Lessing 2019-20

Freshman Amelie Lessing came to KU from Boulder, Colorado, and competed for the Jayhawks in primarily the butterfly, individual medley and freestyle events. She claimed 12 top-five individual finishes over the course of her first collegiate season.

Q. How do you think your first year at KU went?

“My first year at KU was so fun and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I had the best time with the team. At first, I was nervous about meeting new people and being on a whole new team but after a couple of weeks I felt comfortable with everyone.”

Q. What was your favorite moment of the 2019-20 year?

“Honestly I don’t think I could pick a single moment that I enjoyed the most because, to me, what made it super fun was everything together. I enjoyed being with the team but I am a pretty chill person, so hanging out with teammates during my free time was super fun.”

Q. What was the biggest change going from a senior in high school to a college freshman?

“There isn’t one specific thing that was a big change because I personally thought everything was a HUGE change. However, I say that in a good way. The practices were more different than what I had ever experienced before and the classes were very different from high school. They weren’t necessarily harder but they were graded differently and the work was done
differently.”

Q. How are you using what you learned this year to prepare for 2020-21?

“I’m using what I learned last year for this year by taking care of myself more mentally and physically.”

Q. What advice do you have for the incoming freshmen to make their transition easier?

“Everything at first is going to be very different and very challenging but at the end of the day, it is so worth it. It takes a little bit of time to adjust to everything but once you get into a routine everything will feel more natural. Also, if you are having trouble with absolutely anything, DO NOT be afraid to ask for help. I made that mistake and I learned the hard way, but I learned that there is no reason to be scared to ask for help because everyone is there for you.”

Q. What is one thing you wish you would have known prior to starting your freshman year?

“I wish I would’ve known that it is easier to ask for help and I wish I would’ve known how big of a transition everything was going to be.”

Kansas Jayhawks