Tomorrow, I will be sitting down with my visit campus visitor that is interested in swimming at Wabash.  The funny part is that is was only a little more than a month ago that I was in this young man's shoes.  In late July, I stepped onto campus to see if Wabash was place that I wanted to be to continue my career. From Dean Raters, our Athletic Director Tom Bambrey, our Admissions Director Steve Klein, the great coaching staff that resides above this gracious pool office, and Evan Rhinesmith, Hugh Vandivier, Craig Vetor, Pete Hewitt, Elijah Sanders, and Joe Reese as representatives of the team, everyone beamed with pride for Wabash.  Meeting with my faculty mentor, team members, and other individuals on campus, I have come to learn that the people are what makes Wabash special.  The whole campus community jumped to make me feel welcome and comfortable.  I've now been in Crawfordsville 3 weeks, and I still am getting an enormous outpouring of support from the community.  From Gail Pebworth's tutelage and vast network of swimming friends, to alumni calling and emailing about their excitement, the guys on the team always stopping in the office to hang out, everyone inviting me out to eat (gotta love free food!), the community has been nothing short of outstanding.  So how can a high school senior that is looking to find a community to foster an atmosphere of continual improvement as a person, student, and swimmer not fall in love with Wabash?  Wabash sells itself and welcomes everyone with open arms, and I've experienced the warm embrace first hand.  I'm looking forward to this year, this month, this day, tomorrow, to continue to unravel all that is great about this school and give as many other people the chance to be part of this great school as well.

-Steve Barnes