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Colin Miller

Colin joined the Damascus Swim Team at the ripe age of 7 and little did he realize his swimming career would entail:  
  • -   driving overnight from Boston to swim as an 8 year old against nemesis Flower Valley
  • -   witnessing the team’s ride in the “A” division from 1998 - 2003
  • -   eating 12 pounds of sugar per meet to help you shave off .05 seconds
  • -   convincing the coach that it improves your time to rest at the wall in practice
  • -   failing to convince the MCSL that backstroke should be illegal
  • -   having your brother finally beat you in the 100 yard freestyle
  • -   waking up as a graduated senior swimmer for early morning practices.
 Outside of the pool, Colin has participated in the scouts for over 11 years. Throughout his scouting career he:

-   he earned numerous religious emblems:

-   backpacked with grizzly bears at Glacier National Park in Montana

-   snorkeled with the sharks and barracuda in the reefs of the Florida Keys

-   flew in an authentic World War II Piper Cub

-   snowboarded down the slopes of Timberline. 

 In 2008, Colin earned his Eagle Scout rank and built an outdoor Stations of the Cross at St. Paul’s Catholic Church for his Eagle Scout project. 
 
Colin was homeschooled until the 9th grade when he enrolled at Gonzaga High School in Washington DC. Community service has been a key aspect of Colin’s focus and he has volunteered over 650 hours in high school by:

-   serving the homeless and AIDS patients

-   tutoring inner city youth

-   serving the St. Paul’s parish as an acolyte, usher, and peer ministry program.

This year, he received the Men’s Club service award for his parish volunteer work. At Gonzaga, he also participated on the Math team, It’s Academic, Political Inc, and Rugby team. Academically, Colin was recognized as a Maryland Distinguished Scholar, National Honor Society member, and the Class of 2009 Salutatorian with a cumulative 4.94 GPA – a trait he obviously picked up from his Mother!
 
In the fall, Colin will attend the University of Maryland on a full tuition scholarship in the Honors Engineering program with a minor in Philosophy. Go TERPS! At least his Dad won’t need to change his Maryland swim meet attire.
 
In closing, we can remember the excitement (and relief) we felt as he made it across the pool for the very first time trying to perform the strokes he learned correctly. Today he is a very confident swimmer and being a member of the Team has benefited him greatly. Swimming has been a large part of our family and we are so thankful to be part of the Damascus Swim Team. It is an enjoyable sport that he can turn to for the rest of his life.