It takes years of repetition to perfect the craft of being a swimmer, and Meghan Richardson is still learning what it takes to get the job done.
Richardson, 20, is a junior on the Eastern Michigan University swim and dive team and participates in the butterfly event.
Richardson has two siblings: A brother, Nick, and a sister, Caitlin. She comes to EMU from Midland, Mich., which is a two-hour drive. However, Richardson admits she drives fast and can make it back to Midland in an hour and a half.
Richardson is a communications major with a minor in marketing.
“I love doing everything, so I can not choose just one thing to do,” Richardson said.
Her favorite classes are interpersonal communication and art, and she is on track to graduate by the end of next fall semester. She hopes to find a career in the communication field.
In middle school, she was a sports star playing softball, volleyball and basketball. Richardson also made it onto travel teams and before starting high school, she seriously considered giving up on swimming.
“My high school did not have a swim team and I decided to transfer to a new school,” Richardson said. “It was transfer to another school or else.”
She attended Herbert Henry Dow High School in Midland, where she not only swam but also ran track and field.
“Track and field is sort of like swimming,” Richardson said. “You are not only racing others, but you are also trying to beat your own time. As a result, it was easier to connect the two sports.”
Richardson’s track career lasted only two years as she decided to focus more on swimming.
“In the last two years of swimming in high school, I began to train in the spring since I was no longer running track.”
Before coming to EMU, she considered the University of Toledo and Oakland University.
“I made a recruiting trip to Toledo knowing that I only had a 57 [second] in my 100 fly in high school,” Richardson, said. “I was not that great [in high school], but I was okay.”
Richardson said she was supposed to go on a recruiting trip to Oakland, but after a trip to EMU’s campus, she cancelled the visit and chose to swim for the Eagles.
When it comes to her favorite restaurants, she loves Italian food and likes to go to the Olive Garden and Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
Like her fellow teammate and best friend, senior Lauren Kalinosky, Richardson likes to listen to country music, but also enjoys acoustic and throwback ’80s and ’90s music on the side.
Richardson’s favorite artist is Whitney Houston.
“I consider [Whitney Houston] to be my pump-up music,” she said.
Richardson’s favorite channel to watch is the Food Network and her favorite show is “How I Met Your Mother.”
When she is not in the classroom or in the pool, she enjoys baking. Her favorite dessert to make is chocolate chip cookies.
“I make really good chocolate chip and sugar cookies,” she said. “I also make really good strawberry shortcake.”
