IMPACT: Making a Difference, Katey Lewicki (NCSU Swimming)

By: Katey Lewicki, NCSU Swimming

Growing up in Colorado, most kids craved the winter so they could hit the slopes. But I craved summer because the warm days meant swimming. From my first swim lesson, I knew the pool was going to be my second home.

I started swimming when I was six for my local summer league team and was horrible. I would finish seconds behind my friends but I didn’t care because I loved the sport. When I turned 14, things just clicked. I grew into my body and started winning races. I joined a year-round club at 15 and committed to swim at NC State my junior year of high school.

I knew I wanted to commit to NC State after my first call with head coach, Braden Holloway.  He talked about how he had been building a program that was going to be part of history and how NC State swimming is more than a team, it’s a family.

My time swimming for NC State has been hard work, but very rewarding. I was part of the 2021 National Runner-up team and a multiple ACC finalist. But more importantly, I made relationships that will last a lifetime.

Since swimming is a full-time sport, I spent my summers in Raleigh and started coaching the summer league team at Raleigh Country Club (“RCC”) in 2022.

I wanted to create an environment that focused on having fun but also gave kids the confidence to compete. I found so much joy teaching kids to swim and watching them thrive.

RCC is a lot smaller than other teams in our league, so we don’t win many meets. Last summer, we won our first meet in eleven years. The kids were so excited you would have thought they just made the Olympic team.

My fellow RCC coach, another NC State swimmer, and I try to be involved in the lives of the kids we coach beyond the swimming pool. So, whenever we can, we follow up with them at their other sporting events, performances and even babysit sometimes. We care about the lives we impact, as do NC State athletes in all our varsity sports. We are proud to be part of the Raleigh community and hope to be positive role models for young people.

Helping children is what drew me to work with a local non-profit, Lessons For Life Through Sports (“Lessons For”). They are dedicated to getting books into children’s hands, reducing screen time and building the next generation of NC State fans. As someone who had dyslexia and trouble reading in elementary school, promoting childhood literacy holds a special place in my heart.

It’s so important to promote reading in a fun way, for both children and the adults reading with them. Lessons For Wolfpack Fans is the perfect book for NC State fans of all ages, and I’m proud to have a positive influence on children while helping to build the next generation of Wolfpack fans! GO PACK!