North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: 'I Always Wanted To Do Everything'
2/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Feb. 21, 2006
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - In Kendall Smith's go-go-go world, it was the most relaxing thing she had ever experienced: sleep until 9 a.m., go to class for a couple of hours, eat a big lunch, take a long nap and then see some sights in Spain.
This, she thought, is what college is like for some people.
Just not her.
So the senior member of the NC State women's swimming and diving team is a little wistful that she did not sign up for a summer of foreign study a bit sooner. But when was there time?
The native of Chapel Hill is one of the most active students on NC State's campus. Not only has she spent the last four years swimming competitively for the Wolfpack, she is also active in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Alumni Association Student Ambassador Program and the president's roundtable. This year, she serves as the vice-president of the Senior Class.
Last summer, she was part of the team that helped create and promote a permanent design for the new NC State class ring. Her goal is to become a fashion designer, and she plans to spend this summer in New York in a couple of internship programs. (She's waiting to hear back from famed designer Diane Von Furstenberg, her fashion hero.) One day, Smith wants to hear celebrities shout her name when they are asked whose clothes they are wearing on the red carpet. Has anyone mentioned that the accomplished back-stroker and freestyle sprinter has a 4.0 grade point average, in the demanding field of textiles and apparel technology management?
"I have always had a mentality to do everything I can, to be involved with everything I can - and to do it all 100 percent," Smith says on a wintry morning after she has already been for a 90-minute early swim and is filling a tiny hole in her schedule talking about her activities. "That's what my parents taught me. So I didn't want to come to school just to swim and I didn't want to come to school just to go to school.
"I wanted to do everything."
And it's hard to think of what she might have missed, except for a couple of exciting seasons of "24."
In some areas, Smith is a typical college student. She's in front of the TV every Sunday night, watching the ABC tripleheader of "Extreme Home-maker," "Desperate Housewives" and "Gray's Anatomy."
For relaxation, she likes to shop.
"Where ever and when ever," she said.
But keeping up with Smith the rest of the week is practically impossible. Most mornings, she's up by 5:15 and in the pool by 5:45. She goes back to her off-campus apartment for a bowl of Kashi cereal - naturally, Smith is a conscientious eater - and a quick change of clothes.
Most weekdays, she has a morning meeting with one of the various organizations she's a member of. Monday through Thursday, she's in class from 9 a.m. to 2:30, with just enough time in the middle of the day for lunch.
Mondays are her busiest days, mainly because she has a night class that runs from 5 to 9:40 p.m. She lifts weights on Tuesdays, and has swim practice in the afternoons. On Wednesdays, she drives to Chapel Hill for allergy shots. On Fridays, when her first class of the day begins 1:30, she works from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the College of Textiles.
"I don't know when she sleeps," says swimming and diving coach Brooks Teal. "To me, it is unbelievable how she balances so many different things and does them all so well. It's hard for me to keep up with all the extracurricular things that she does.
"She is just an exceptional young lady and we are so proud of the way she represents NC State, the athletic department and the swim team."
Smith, who started swimming at the age of 5, clearly has trained herself to be well-organized in all of her activities. Swimming has always been her passion, however, and practically nothing could keep her out of the pool.
Not even the time she tripped over a shoe-lace playing basketball and broke her wrist. Through associates of her dad at the University of North Carolina - he's a prostate cancer researcher and an NC State graduate - Smith got a special Gortex cast that allowed her to still race while she recovered.
The only problem, however, that swimming with the cast made her left arm stronger than her right. The solution? To wear a similar cast on her non-injured hand when she swam.
"The jokes about that never die," Smith says, blushing. "I looked like a fool."
But that was also about the time that Smith took up sewing - something she still does on those rare afternoons when she has nothing else to do. She started as a teenager making dresses, and then began sewing her own swimsuits.
"That sort of started the ball rolling for me," she says.
As part of her studies in NC State's ground-breaking research in this field, Smith has been heavily involved in designing fashions for young women out of non-woven material - the kind of cheap, coarse fabric used to make typically disposable things like dryer sheets, Swiffers and baby wipes.
It's non-woven, which means when the fabric stretches, it doesn't recoil very much. That can be a big problem, especially when designing women's fashions.
"Every time you sit down, it leaves a permanent butt print in the clothes," Smith said.
But that's just part of the challenge that Smith and other students face as part of their advanced research into this textile technology, which will eventually provide sturdy, non-fading, cheap clothing for mass production.
For now, Smith's swimming career is winding down. She will likely graduate in the fall, after completing her internships in New York and spending one more semester at NC State.
Don't, however, expect to see her slow down, even after she graduates.
"Whether it is doing some type of community service, or something for others to better the community, I will always do something to keep me busy," Smith said. "It's just my nature."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
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