1.Name: Andrew Greenhalgh
2.Major, Year: Molecular & Cellular Biology (Minor: History of Science and Technology), Class of 2017
3.Hometown: Kensington, MD
4.Affiliated with: Johns Hopkins Men’s Swimming, Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club, Naval Medical Research Center
5.You can probably find me: At the pool, the FFC, or C-level.
6.The best thing about Hopkins is the closeness of everyone on campus. That’s one thing that really struck me when I arrived on campus. Immediately I felt a part of something bigger: a large family.
7.Something I’m especially proud of is being able to juggle the rigorous academics of Johns Hopkins while still maintaining peak performance in the pool. I have been able to excel on the Dean’s List both semesters so far by maintaining an A average GPA, as well as show up everyday ready to compete and get better in swimming.
8.Something most people don’t know about me is that I was born into a military family and have traveled the world as a result. My dad is in the Navy so I’ve seen all of Europe and North America!
9. This year, I hope to continue the successes I had last year academically and athletically. Already I think I am off to a good start with what I did over the course of the summer. I interned at the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, MD in the Cellular Laboratory of the Regenerative Medicine Department. Here, I worked on trying to find an effective in vitro and in vivo treatment for Heterotopic Ossification using microRNA to inhibit bone growth. I also spent a lot of time training before and after work over the summer to improve my skills and prepare not only for nationals, but for the upcoming season at Hopkins as well. Overall, I’m hoping that we as a team can bring home a National Title for the first time since 1979. With the guys we have returning, and with our new class coming in, there’s no doubt in my mind that we will give it our best shot.
10. In five years, I’m not entirely sure what or where I’ll be. My plan is definitely to enlist in the US Navy and go to medical school, after college, but the question is when. Depending on where I stand in swimming at the end of my senior year, I may take a bridge year and attempt to make various National Teams.
11. Next up for me is the entire 2014-2015 academic year. I try to approach everything step by step, and not get too caught up in what’s far down the road. With that in mind, I will mainly focus on getting off to a strong start in academics during the first month or so of school while training hard to get to a peak performance level. Then it’s a scrimmage against Yale at Hopkins on October 25 to kick off the competition season.
12. Tell us about your experience at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
This summer, I competed at the Phillips 66 US National Championships in Irvine, California from August 6-10. I qualified for the meet at the NCAA championships earlier in the year in the 1650-yard freestyle. This automatically qualified me to swim the 1500 and 800 Long course meter freestyles. I was also able to bonus the 400 meter freestyle as an 18 and under with my 500 yard freestyle time, also from NCAAs. The meet itself was so exciting because I was able to swim next to (and meet) some of the greatest swimmers on the planet, as well as experience a major competitive environment. The highlight of my meet came on the first day in the 1500, where I placed 18th in the country. I also placed 4th among 18 and under swimmers at the meet, automatically qualifying me to join team USA to the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui, Hawaii. However, due to academic commitments, I had to decline the opportunity. However, my swim at this meet still makes me eligible for a US National Junior Team Selection, which will be announced September 8.
Look for Andy around campus!