Swirling Worlds: EP.3 - Leandro Forero

Before 2019, Piedmont University didn't have a swim team, and then came head coach Teddy Guyer. Coach Guyer started the program and began competition during the 2020-2021 academic year. Junior Sports Communications and Mass Communications double Leandro Forero was in the second recruiting class under Coach Guyer. "I came to Piedmont because it felt like home when I first stepped on campus," said Forero. "My fellow students, teammates and coaches made this environment safe, and I knew I could grow as a person and an athlete here."

Leandro is a distance swimmer for the Men’s swimming team here at Piedmont and holds five school records. During the podcast, Forero mentioned that his dream school was the University of Georgia. "I always dreamed of swimming in college and becoming a division one athlete," said Forero. "Ultimately, I decided I would rather focus on my academics and major."

Later in the interview, I asked Leo what he thought about Piedmont compared to UGA. "So many people at Piedmont told me they believed in me and treated me more as a person than a number," said Forero. "At the University of Georgia, there is no telling the amount of time I would have spent with my teachers because there are hundreds of other students; I know I would have just been another number." In the interview, Leo also mentioned that learning at a small school has helped him achieve academic goals that he didn’t expect to do in life, and he thanked his professors who helped him in this accomplishment.

How do you think Piedmont compares to other schools academically? What do you think Piedmont has to change to make them better academically?