The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/447116
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Growing up in Hong Kong, women's swimming and diving senior Claudia Lau learned the importance of school and fell in love with swimming. A tal- ented swimmer from a young age, Lau had to find time to squeeze in her passion for the pool only when school allowed it. " S c h o o l w a s v e r y impor tant," Lau said. "School is very intense back home, but there is really no support be- tween swimming and academics so it wasn't compatible for me. If c l a s s e s co n f l i c t w i t h practice then you don't go to practice. That 's why I chose to come here to Michigan." Lau is enrolled in the Ross School of Business and knew from a young age that she wanted to be a part of the business world. Her mother was instrumental in her upbringing and planted the seed that bloomed into a major in business. "Growing up, my mom was in busi- ness so I always followed her around town to see what she did," Lau ex- plained. "We would go to her stores and check out what's going on. She manages 20 or more stores so I would follow her around and it always inter- ested me. So I knew from a young age I wanted to go into business." She may have known what she wanted to do, but actually doing it was a challenge. English was a sec- ond language for her and there were many differences in the way academ- ics are approached in the United States. Lau has handled those challenges, earning mul- tiple academic honors, including being named Academic All-Big Ten in 2013 and 2014. She earned the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement each of her first three years and twice received University Honors. She was also named a team captain this year. As a swimmer, she hopes to con- tinue after graduation. Down the road, she has big goals in the busi- ness arena. "I'm actually going to be a profes- sional swimmer next year. I'm going to try out for the Hong Kong Olympic team. That's my plan for next year. "After that I think I will go back home eventually, but if there is an opportu- nity in the states I won't turn it down. Obviously with my family back home I'm leaning more towards going back Student Athlete Of The Month Women's Swimming And Diving Senior Claudia Lau Lau, a senior business major from Hong Kong, has been named Academic All-Big Ten each of the past two years. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY