After graduating from Portage Central High School (Michigan), Maggie Farrell ’24 was looking forward to continuing her swimming career at an NCAA Division III school.

Her early aspirations led her to an out-of-state university, but within several weeks, she realized her initial choice was not the right fit for her.

Looking for transfer options as a student-athlete, Maggie reached out to a former teammate who was on the swim and dive team at Calvin, and she set up a campus tour and meeting with her prospective team.

According to Maggie, she knew Calvin was the right fit immediately.

“Everyone was so welcoming. The girls on the swim team were already giving me hugs, even though they had just met me,” she explained. “I clicked with the coaches, and it just felt like home.”

Breaking records in the pool

It didn’t take long for Maggie to become an asset to the women’s swim team.

During the MIAA Championship of her freshman season, she helped the 800, 400, and 200 freestyle relays finish first. Individually, she made her MIAA Championships debut one to remember by winning the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:06.94 and 200 freestyle in a time of 1:54.02.

Throughout her swimming career at Calvin, she helped the Knights to four second-place finishes at the MIAA championships, shattered school and MIAA records, and placed in the NCAA Division III Championships.

In fact, during her junior season, Maggie became the first individual in Calvin women's swimming history to earn a top-eight (All-America) swim at the NCAA III Championships, when she placed seventh in the 100 butterfly. Then, she topped her performance in March 2024 by finishing fifth in the race and again earning All-America honors.

Maggie rounded out her career by earning Calvin’s highest honor for female athletes: the Kay Tiemersma Athletic Award.

Finding her passion in the classroom

Being a student-athlete has shaped Maggie outside of the pool as well.

It led her to discover her passion for sports management and even work with Calvin’s development office, focusing on donors to the university’s athletic programs.

“I’ve really enjoyed that side of marketing and creating things for donors and athletics,” Maggie explained.

She also immersed herself in additional extra-curricular activities and participated in the marketing club, student-athlete advisory committee, and women in business network.

“The student-athlete experience at Calvin encompasses the whole you, not just the athlete,” she shared. “I’m also able to have a job and be in clubs where I work with real clients and see what my future career could look like.”

Next up: Master’s degree

Maggie’s student journey didn’t end when she received her bachelor’s degree. She has already committed to return to Calvin in the fall of 2024 as a master’s student.

Having found her passion for sports marketing, she plans on earning an MBA degree and then finding a job in this field. And she’s thankful for how her time as an undergraduate student-athlete has prepared her for this next step.

“Time management has been a huge lesson for me throughout college as well as leadership lessons,” she said. “I’ve also learned how to work with big groups of people and how important a positive attitude is for everything I’m doing.”