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Scottish native adjusts to new country, YSU
The Scottish swimmer had never been to the United States prior to her freshman year.
By JON MOFFETT
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SCOTLAND THE BRAVE: Youngstown State sophomore swimmer Kirstin Walker practices at the Beeghly Center pool. Walker is a native of Duns, Scotland.
Kirstin Walker YSU Swimmer
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Kirstin Walker, a sophomore YSU swimmer from Scotland has 17 first place finishes and is becoming one of the team's best swimmers.
Vindicator Sports Staff
Two years ago Kirstin Walker packed her swimsuit and goggles and traveled across thousands of miles of ocean to an unknown university in a country she’d never experienced.
Now a sophomore at Youngstown State University and a member of the swim team, Walker, a native of Duns, Scotland, has all but assimilated into the American way of life.
“It’s a lot different here in the United States,” she said with a thick Scottish accent. “Like the weather, the food and the accents, obviously. I’s all different.”
Walker, 19, had never been to the United States prior to arriving at YSU as a freshman last year. That she even knew of Youngstown State is a small miracle. But Walker said she and teammate Ashley Williamson, a junior and fellow Scotland native, were given a recruiting Web site and discovered YSU.
“You basically make a profile, write your achievements and stuff like that,” Walker said. “You enter details, and the information is sent to different universities. They get back to you and you talk to them and pick which one you want to go to.”
Picking YSU, Walker has become an instant hit in the pool.
In her two years as a Penguin swimmer, Walker has earned 17 first-place finishes. But swimming coach Matt Anderson said Walker’s impact goes beyond the pool
“It’s great to add culture to the program and the other kids on the team really learn a lot from not only our international students, but also the students who come from far away in the United States and have different lifestyles,” Anderson said. “The way Kirstin trains, she just brings it to a whole new level for everybody. She’s a definite workhorse. She comes in every day and leads the group in training, and that makes a huge difference for everyone else’s progress.”
Walker has been swimming since she was 9, which she admits is a late start. When asked if she had an interesting story about learning to swim, Walker said it was out of necessity.
“No, my mom just wanted me to learn how to swim so I wouldn’t drown,” she said laughing.
While Walker is comfortable now, she said she felt like a fish out of water at first.
“Being away from my family was hard and I had to adjust to that at first,” she said.
But the YSU swim team went to Hawaii for a training camp last year. The trip, Walker said, really helped break the ice.
“That was really good because that was my freshman year and we didn’t really know each other,” she said. “But we bonded a lot there and after that I felt like we were more of a team.”
To help quell her homesickness, Walker said teammates often invite her and other swimmers over for family gatherings.
Anderson said he’s seen a tremendous difference between Walker’s freshman and sophomore years.
“She’s just a more comfortable person this year,” he said. “It shows in her personality, training and everything she does. Just understanding what things are going to be like on a day-to-day basis makes a huge difference for her, and I think that has helped relax her a lot to the point where she feels like part of the team and almost like an American, I guess you could say.”
While she has accepted some American ideologies, there are still some things she misses about home.
“There’s a lot more fast food over here than there is back home,” she said smiling. “I miss homemade meals, like Haggis, which is a traditional Scottish meal.”
Haggis is a sheep’s organs, mixed with spices and oatmeal, cooked in its stomach. Walker said she has a fondness for Haggis but has not introduced it to her American teammates yet.
“Haggis definitely takes some getting used to,” she said.
jmoffett@vindy.com