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Katherine Plevka Senior Profile
1/13/2015 9:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving, Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. -- Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Katherine Plevka to learn more about the Charlotte, N.C., native.
GoDuke.com: Where has been your favorite place to compete over the past four years?
Katherine Plevka: Here or Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill because I grew up in high school going to big meets there, and it's always fun to go in there and give it our all against UNC. Here just because it's “our house,” as cheesy as it is. It's nice to be in your own pool, and it's really easy to get hyped here when we're all together and excited for a meet.
GoDuke.com: What is a road trip memory that sticks out to you?
KP: One of my most memorable road trips was freshman year ACCs. Everything was just so new and exciting to me. I'd been to big meets before, but everyone told me ACCs would feel different and it very much did. On that bus, I remember everyone getting hyped and excited and all of our post-session meetings that we had.
GoDuke.com: What is one lesson you have learned from swimming that you will use throughout the rest of your life?
KP: Don't stress about the little things. Take everything day by day but don't get caught up in all of the little things. Don't worry too much about the mini road blocks because there's always going to be something that's not going exactly right.
GoDuke.com: What is an academic achievement that you're proud of?
KP: Over the summer, I was in this program called 'VIP'. It's for students that want to further their research in psychology. I worked really hard all summer as an intern in a research lab that I'm still with, and at the end we produced this big poster. It was my first research poster, and it was really cool to see all my hard work come together in one big visual.
GoDuke.com: What does it mean for you to represent Duke University?
KP: It means a lot to me. I have a lot of pride for Duke and a lot of pride for being a student-athlete here. I think about it all the time, in all the ways that I conduct myself with everyone. Duke has been a huge factor in the type of person that I am today, and I owe it a lot to the environment and being a student-athlete here.
GoDuke.com: What do you think you'll miss the most once your time here is over?
KP: The camaraderie of the team. You have such a bond with people you work really hard with day in and day out.
GoDuke.com: Take us through your routine before your event comes up in a meet.
KP: I do my warmup, same warmup as always. I start to feel good, I get pumped. I put on all my really warm, toasty clothes. And then I come behind the block and I get so excited to race and just have fun. It wasn't really until this year, coming back from my injury, that I really started swimming for myself. I have so much fun behind the blocks – I listen to music that makes me happy, I jump around, I get in the zone and I'm like, “This is my lane for the next two minutes or whatever, and it's just for me.” I just love that moment.
GoDuke.com: Touching more on your injury last year, after your time away, what does it mean to you to be back competing this year?
KP: Being out was tough, and that's how I realized I love the camaraderie and training with the team. Coming back was even tougher – just to get back in the water and have lost so much ground, and do things that used to be so easy for me and have them not be easy anymore was really tough. But the pride that I have for swimming and for Duke has all increased exponentially because of that struggle. So it means a lot to me to be here now swimming and racing and being competitive. I could never have imagined that my four years would have taken the shape that they did, but I'm happy they did.
#GoDuke
GoDuke.com: Where has been your favorite place to compete over the past four years?
Katherine Plevka: Here or Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill because I grew up in high school going to big meets there, and it's always fun to go in there and give it our all against UNC. Here just because it's “our house,” as cheesy as it is. It's nice to be in your own pool, and it's really easy to get hyped here when we're all together and excited for a meet.
GoDuke.com: What is a road trip memory that sticks out to you?
KP: One of my most memorable road trips was freshman year ACCs. Everything was just so new and exciting to me. I'd been to big meets before, but everyone told me ACCs would feel different and it very much did. On that bus, I remember everyone getting hyped and excited and all of our post-session meetings that we had.
GoDuke.com: What is one lesson you have learned from swimming that you will use throughout the rest of your life?
KP: Don't stress about the little things. Take everything day by day but don't get caught up in all of the little things. Don't worry too much about the mini road blocks because there's always going to be something that's not going exactly right.
GoDuke.com: What is an academic achievement that you're proud of?
KP: Over the summer, I was in this program called 'VIP'. It's for students that want to further their research in psychology. I worked really hard all summer as an intern in a research lab that I'm still with, and at the end we produced this big poster. It was my first research poster, and it was really cool to see all my hard work come together in one big visual.
GoDuke.com: What does it mean for you to represent Duke University?
KP: It means a lot to me. I have a lot of pride for Duke and a lot of pride for being a student-athlete here. I think about it all the time, in all the ways that I conduct myself with everyone. Duke has been a huge factor in the type of person that I am today, and I owe it a lot to the environment and being a student-athlete here.
GoDuke.com: What do you think you'll miss the most once your time here is over?
KP: The camaraderie of the team. You have such a bond with people you work really hard with day in and day out.
GoDuke.com: Take us through your routine before your event comes up in a meet.
KP: I do my warmup, same warmup as always. I start to feel good, I get pumped. I put on all my really warm, toasty clothes. And then I come behind the block and I get so excited to race and just have fun. It wasn't really until this year, coming back from my injury, that I really started swimming for myself. I have so much fun behind the blocks – I listen to music that makes me happy, I jump around, I get in the zone and I'm like, “This is my lane for the next two minutes or whatever, and it's just for me.” I just love that moment.
GoDuke.com: Touching more on your injury last year, after your time away, what does it mean to you to be back competing this year?
KP: Being out was tough, and that's how I realized I love the camaraderie and training with the team. Coming back was even tougher – just to get back in the water and have lost so much ground, and do things that used to be so easy for me and have them not be easy anymore was really tough. But the pride that I have for swimming and for Duke has all increased exponentially because of that struggle. So it means a lot to me to be here now swimming and racing and being competitive. I could never have imagined that my four years would have taken the shape that they did, but I'm happy they did.
#GoDuke
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