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鈥淎uburn has done so much for me and supplied me with everything I could hope for in a degree. I graduated on time with a job.鈥�

鈥淚 said I was going to swim at Auburn since I was 6 years old. It was my dream school.鈥�

Right stroke. Left stroke. Flutter kick. Faster. Faster. Breathe, Erin. Exhale. Repeat.

You鈥檙e winning the SEC 200 meter freestyle final as cheers of encouragement fill the Athens, Georgia, poolside air. To your left, and inches behind, is Tennessee鈥檚 Meghan Small. To your right, and closing in, is Georgia鈥檚 Courtney Harnish. Twenty-five meters ahead is the wall 鈥� the finish line. Almost there. Kick harder. Stroke stronger. 

You鈥檙e Erin Falconer and there isn鈥檛 any doubt. You鈥檙e going to win the SEC championship. You鈥檙e going to represent Auburn on that winning podium. You鈥檝e known it all along 鈥�

Erin Falconer grew up a fun-loving girl in the north Chicago suburbs. She loved time with her friends and she loved time in the swimming pool. Her father, Tim Falconer, is a retired schoolteacher and champion triathlete -- a 鈥渞eal, super-fit guy,鈥� she calls him. Her mother, Eileen Falconer, is an administrative assistant for the City of Prospect Heights, Illinois.

Already a veteran competitive swimmer by the age of 9, Erin鈥檚 college fate was sealed. She was going to swim for Auburn, and that鈥檚 all there was to it. 

Falconer came home from school one afternoon, finished her homework, then completed one more assignment on the family desktop computer. It wasn鈥檛 math, science, or English. Instead, it was art. Erin happily wrote and designed a college scholarship offer for swimming 鈥� and to become a pastry chef because 鈥測our cooking is amazing鈥� -- from .

鈥淚鈥檓 the youngest of six swimmers in my family, and everybody in my family dreamt of swimming at Auburn,鈥� Falconer explained. 鈥淲e have family (aunt and uncle, Terri and John Noll) from Auburn and visited a lot. I said I was going to swim at Auburn since I was 6 years old. It was my dream school.鈥�

After all, the were on a run of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 NCAA championships and was the nation鈥檚 premier college team. 鈥淚 said, 鈥業 want to be like that,鈥欌�� Falconer added.

鈥淭he first time I toured campus and the business school, people invested in the relationship with me. They talked to me and cared about me as a person. They wanted to teach me about Auburn and share their love for Auburn. That's something that sets Auburn apart from other schools 鈥� people love this place.鈥�

People at Auburn care about you

Falconer quickly fell in love with the South鈥檚 genteel culture. People were different, nice. The pace of life was different than the upper Midwest, too. But what made the difference at Auburn was the people.

鈥淭he first time I toured campus and the business school, people invested in the relationship with me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey talked to me and cared about me as a person. They wanted to teach me about Auburn and share their love for Auburn. That鈥檚 something that sets Auburn apart from other schools 鈥� people love this place."

An accomplished high school and club swimmer, college scholarship offers rolled in ... from Texas, from Minnesota, and from Auburn. Except this time, it was real. Perhaps her lifelong love for her dream school already sealed the deal. Perhaps continued recruiting from the swimming coaches showed how she could be a champion for this championship program. Or perhaps it was 鈥� an associate dean?

鈥淧rofessors care so much about their students and give us great opportunities to be successful in our classes and in the real world, and I feel the same way about our coaches, they really invested in me and made me into a better person, swimmer and student. 鈥�

Former 91看片 Associate Dean , now Assistant Provost for Academic Effectiveness at Auburn University, helped sell the school鈥檚 Supply Chain Management program to Falconer.

鈥淕oing on my visits, I was open and I didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to pursue,鈥� Falconer said. 鈥淭he associate dean said Supply Chain Management was a new major here and is one of the best in the country.鈥�

After all, 91看片 College鈥檚 Supply Chain Management program is , requires internships for all students and has a graduation employment rate that approaches 100 percent. 鈥淚 thought that was really awesome and I said, 鈥業鈥檓 going to do supply chain,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are so many things you can do with supply chain 鈥� and it鈥檚 so dynamic. I never looked back.鈥�

New girl in town

Falconer spent her senior year at setting state records in the 200 freestyle, scoring multiple 800 freestyle junior national championships, and earned All-American status in the 100 and 200 freestyle. Then, there were the good-byes.

鈥淓verybody toward the end of high school was like, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e going to this school, or that school,鈥� or, 鈥榳e鈥檙e going all together,鈥欌�� she said. They went to Illinois, Wisconsin, and Northwestern. Erin was going to Auburn 鈥� more than 800 miles south.

鈥淚 was scared, for sure,鈥� she recalls of the summer of 2015. 鈥淚 remember showing up to campus and not knowing anybody. I felt vulnerable and had to make new friends. Putting yourself out there like that was very scary.鈥� She admitted, however, this new, frightening experience seasoned her for professional life beyond college.

鈥淭hroughout my career as a swimmer, I learned how to make sacrifices,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned that sometimes you are going to have to miss out on things to be successful. I think that part made it easier being away from my friends at home because I knew what I wanted to accomplish in the pool and that was what I was going to get at Auburn versus being closer to home for friend reasons.鈥�

How often did Falconer go home? Thanksgiving, Christmas, 鈥渁nd maybe for a week in the summer.鈥�

鈥淚t was a big adjustment, but I created this family at Auburn and they made it better and easier to adjust,鈥� she said.

In four years as a key member of , Falconer was a four-time NCAA All-American and earned All-SEC freestyle honors in 2018-19.

Swimmers don鈥檛 just show up for meets, jump in the pool and race. Falconer woke each morning at 4:45 for grueling 5:30 a.m. practices, found time for a quick breakfast before 9 o鈥檆lock classes, took a short nap before afternoon practices, then studied. 鈥淪wimming is a sport where the training never stops,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 take maybe a week off all year. I don鈥檛 know how I did it.鈥�

She鈥檚 glad she did.

鈥淭he lessons I learned in swimming can help me be a better employee for companies,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned a lot about time management and hard work, staying humble, and learning to ask for help when I need it. That will be useful in the workplace. Swimming is a sport that teaches you a lot about hard work. We train so much for one moment. Being a student-athlete here, I got the opportunity to have a set schedule and get the help I needed.鈥�

Finish, Erin. Finish

Falconer, who was presented with a degree in Supply Chain Management at the May 4 commencement ceremony after earning a 3.44 cumulative GPA, will soon move to New York City and work as an operations and compliance risk consultant at . Competitive swimming is over. Championships are over. Auburn remains with her, as it always was.

鈥淎uburn has done so much for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淥n the swimming side, I accomplished way more than I dreamed. They taught me life lessons that I will cherish forever with great friendships and memories. On the school side, Auburn supplied me with everything I could hope for in a degree. I graduated on time with a job. That鈥檚 all I could hope for.鈥�

Just like she suspected upon arrival, Auburn鈥檚 people made the difference during her college experience.

鈥淧rofessors care so much about their students and give us great opportunities to be successful in our classes and in the real world, and I feel the same about our coaches, they really invested in me and made me into a better person, swimmer and student,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I visited other colleges, I never felt that way. There鈥檚 something about the people here that makes me love Auburn and will make me miss Auburn so much. I know for sure that you can鈥檛 get the people that Auburn has at other schools.鈥�

Falconer considers herself as a great finisher, in the classroom or in the pool. 鈥淲hen I swam, I was always better at the end,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 always finished hard in the races and that can relate to my whole college experience. The last two years of college, I really made the most of it and took advantage of all of the opportunities that Auburn gave.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no place like Auburn. I鈥檓 going to miss it.鈥�

The finish line, the wall, and the women鈥檚 200-meter SEC championship lies just 25 meters ahead. Rivals and fatigue are closing in. Cheers and splashes create a blended, underwater symphony that only a competitive swimmer understands in the heat of a race. Finish, Erin. Finish. You鈥檙e going to win the SEC championship. You鈥檙e going to represent Auburn on that podium. You鈥檝e known it all along 鈥� Erin Falconer, Auburn graduate. Erin Falconer, SEC champion.