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Kelsey Lakowske Senior Profile
6/5/2015 9:30:00 AM | Track & Field, Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. – Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Kelsey Lakowske to learn more about the Boulder, Colo., native.
GoDuke.com: What has been your favorite place to compete with either track or cross country?
Kelsey Lakowske: For cross country, I think that would be Wisconsin. I have some good memories there. I had one of my hardest and most rewarding first races there, so I associate it with good team memories. For track, I would say the Armory because I had never competed outside of my state. That was the first time I was able to compete in a new environment which was very exciting.
GoDuke.com: What is a favorite road trip memory?
KL: One specific road trip memory I have occurred over Halloween. We stopped for food and some of the girls got their faces painted like zombies and were “zombie runners” for Halloween.
GoDuke.com: What is one lesson you've learned from track or cross country that you can use the rest of your life?
KL: Discovering that there is more than one way to achieve your goals is something I will take with me. I have had a bumpy career collegially, however despite facing uncontrollable obstacles that made my training difficult or created an unorthodox method of training, I was still able to achieve success, even if it was in a way other than the way I had originally planned.
GoDuke.com: Any pre-race routines?
KL: Breathing. After our warm up routines, breathing helps me calm down. It sounds intuitive, but reminding myself to breathe is one of the simplest and most effective pre-race routines I have.
GoDuke.com: What has been your proudest academic achievement at Duke?
KL: I wouldn't pinpoint a single moment, however from my overall experience, I will take away a new passion for a subject that I had never had any knowledge or experience in. Majoring in neuroscience was something that I had never thought of, but I really enjoyed all of my classes and the field of neuroscience, which is something that I would not had been exposed to if I did not come here.
GoDuke.com: What does it mean to you to be able to represent Duke?
KL: It is an opportunity and a blessing, academically but more so athletically. We are a family. Relationships with current teammates and even alumni have grown to where we consider our program a family. To represent a school like Duke with all its history, academically and athletically, is an honor and a great opportunity.
GoDuke.com: What will you miss most once your time at Duke is over?
KL: I'll miss the people, the team spirit and the campus. There are a lot of Duke-specific memories that I have fond memories of. It will be sad to leave, however those memories will not leave me and I am grateful to have them and been able to experience Duke while I was here.
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