Senior Spotlight: Lily Black
Dec 09 | Women's Swimming & Diving
For senior swimmer Lily Black, meeting a challenge is a way of life. Whether that challenge comes in the water or in the classroom, Black has consistently strived to reach the next level and make the most of the opportunity put in front of her.
At an early age, Black's parents signed her up for swimming lessons as a safety precaution making sure their daughter would be safe around the water. From there, she would spend summers at a swim club down the street eventually joining a summer swim team.
"I won a big competition, which was a surprise because that was before I really knew about competitive swimming," Black said. "But that's what sparked it and that's when I started to train all year and get into the bigger and stronger groups. Ever since then, I've just been building and advancing more within the sport."
Before arriving at Rutgers, Black was an MVP at Cinnaminson High School leading her squad to the 2016 and 2017 divisional championships. Individually, she was a finalist in the 500 free at the NJSIAA State Swimming & Diving Championships and picked up all-county and All-South Jersey honors.
However, Rutgers was almost not a part of her future.
"My dad went to Rutgers, and my cousin, my aunt, my uncle … so I wanted to go somewhere different," she acknowledged.
Black still took the trip an hour north and once she was on campus, she couldn't help but become another member of the family to attend the State University of New Jersey.
"It sounds kind of cliché, but I just fell in love with the team," she recalled. "I liked how big the school was and how there were four different campuses with four completely different feels. I really love cities, but then I also like getting away and being in a more country feel. It also seemed like the perfect scenario in every case for swimming. It was one of the most competitive schools that I was looking at and knew it would help me fulfill my goal of swimming at a Division I college. Then it also had all the majors I was interested in and was a great place for me to immerse myself in."
Since arriving "On The Banks" four years ago, Black has been a part of a squad that has continually made strides in moving up the ranks of the Big Ten.
Swimming, however, is not the only discipline this senior has been building and advancing in. This Scarlet Knight freestyle and breaststroker has been making waves in the classroom as well.
The Cinnaminson, New Jersey product is studying environmental science with a focus in environmental health and has started on a Master's of public health.
"Environmental science and public health, in general, is tying in everything that is around us - whether it's the air we breathe, the water we drink the food we eat, the land we touch," she explained. "It's a pretty broad field and a lot over overlap between both."
After typically spending her mornings in the pool training, Black spends her afternoons with environmental microbiology labs, learning about air pollution - from sources and how to control it – as well as classes in occupational and environmental health, looking at how to make working environments safer.
But Black is not merely going to class, reading the required texts and handing in assignments. She's active in the research and furthering the knowledge of her chosen discipline.
While interning at the Rutgers Horticulture Farm, Black had a chance to put what she has learned in the classroom into practical use.
"Every intern has to do a project," she explained. "You could choose from a variety of crops that they were working with in the field and I chose tigernuts, which is a fibrous carbohydrate. It's very sweet and nutrient-dense. I was interested in it also because it is a gluten-free carb and my aunt has celiac disease so I was interested in learning about any type of carbohydrate that didn't involve gluten.
"Luckily, another professor was working on this same crop and asked me if I wanted to help him with his research. So I helped him with collecting the data, consolidating it and analyzing it and then because I was working with him, we had the ability to present it and have it published. It was presented on my behalf, at a national conference in January."
Black's research - Evaluating Weed Control and Crop Response to Preemergence Herbicide Options in Tigernut - was featured at the Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference.
"That was my first big publication," she noted." You know, the full poster with the Rutgers logo on it so that was really cool."
In the fall of 2019, during a course called "Research in the Disciplines", Black's research paper from the class was selected to be presented at the Undergraduate Research Writing Conference, an annual event that showcases outstanding work completed by students across Rutgers University. Students who earned A's in any of the Writing Program's research writing courses are invited to submit their papers for consideration, in a highly competitive process. Selected students have the opportunity to present their work in a setting modeled on an academic conference and the event provides an interdisciplinary platform for sharing ideas and networking in a professional environment.
"It was really exciting for me to see all my hard work viewed and acknowledged," she noted.
Throughout it all, Black had to learn how to balance the life of a Division I swimmer and a rigorous academic schedule.
"It is pretty challenging, but like anything you have to get into a routine," she said. "It's just your day-to-day life. You have to tackle each day as it comes and do the best you can.
"I found what worked best for me was an hour for math, an hour for science, and then an hour for whatever else I was taking. If it went over that time, I had to move on to the next subject. I found that this stricter schedule gave me more room at the end of the day or the weekend to go back and finish the stuff that I didn't get to. So I work really well under pressure."
The way Black prepares for the classroom is similar to preparing to dive into the water against some of the nation's toughest competition.
over Princeton to capture
the first "Cannon Trophy" title
"I do see a correlation between school and swim in that there's a heightened sense of awareness where you're ready for anything and your body's kind of preparing you for that," she said.
Black also is aware that any setbacks are an opportunity to learn, grow and make a comeback.
"I had to rework my previous ways of thinking and now I'm a lot more successful," she noted of making the adjustment to college. "I was forced to relearn about myself and what works for me. I've seen that in swimming whereas I know that even if I do fall that I just need to take a step back and change something. I'm always reflecting on my performances both academic and athletic. I think that helps me because I'm always changing something. Nothing is ever the same for me because I'm trying to find what works best."
While Black awaits what the 2020-21 season will bring, she maintains the same focus and drive.
"In college, especially, you're not really allowed to slack off or skip laps or skip practices and that has made me extremely dedicated in everything I do," she said. "I take that mentality into school and in life. I never take the easy way out. I'm always taking on something ambitious because that's just who I am. I always take the challenge."
Black's enthusiasm for facing challenges head on in both the water and the classroom has certainly not been without notice.
"Lily is a testament that living our team's values and mission can lead to success outside of the pool," said head coach Jon Maccoll. "We are proud, but not in the least bit surprised that Lily has been able to contribute to our program in so many ways. She contributes to our team every day with her leadership, humility, work ethic and her ability to create heartfelt connections with her teammates. Her passion for learning is only surpassed by her passion for wanting to help people. No matter where her post swimming career takes her, she will continue to be a leader and a contributor because that's what Scarlet Knight student-athletes do."
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