Tulane Swimming & Diving Alumni Series: Looking Back with Leeann Laing
Aug 13, 2020 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Member of the Tulane Swimming & Diving Team from 2004-06
In 2005, Tulane won the Conference USA Championship. What was that experience like?
“I think it’s hard to describe it because that was only the team’s second year of being back, so I don’t think that anyone outside of our team really thought that we would be a contender to win the conference championship. I think, at the time, everyone just had such a successful meet and we all just came together and swam for each other. At the end, when we won, it was just an amazing feeling and I think it just brought everyone closer together.”
What is your favorite memory from your time at Tulane or your time in New Orleans?
“My favorite time at Tulane is probably when we won conference. Just the whole celebration of that was amazing. New Orleans in general, I mean, I love a good parade, so Mardi Gras is one of my favorite times to be down there in Uptown, away from all the tourists. But I love walking up and down Magazine Street, just being in the city is so much fun.”
Being a part of the team during Hurricane Katrina, what was that like for you? Not only as a student-athlete but also as a person?
“It was a lot. We evacuated during move-in weekend. We were on campus for move-in weekend and we had one meeting with the team that was basically, ‘Pack a bag, let us know where you’re going and get out of town.’ I evacuated with two of my teammates and we were going to go to Baton Rouge but decided that probably wasn’t the best place, so we ended up in Shreveport [Louisiana]. We were there for a little bit over a week, kind of in limbo, not sure what was happening, because after the hurricane hit, we felt that the worst had passed. And then the levees broke. So, it was just an emotional roller coaster. I’m so thankful that because we were student-athletes and that we were told where to go. The regular student body all had to figure it out for themselves, so being told that we needed to be in College Station by a certain date and that we had help getting there if we needed it was nice, having some sort of direction. For the previous couple weeks, everything was so up in the air and we just didn’t know what was going on. It was a lot. And then going through the fall semester, nothing was normal to us. We were on a new campus, we were in classes that we didn’t really want to be in, our training schedule was off, we were kind of in the middle of nowhere, so it was just a very different experience. Making it through the semester and then to find out that the team was getting cut, it was just a really hard time, dealing with all of those feelings. I’m from Florida so I had dealt with hurricanes previously, but nothing to that extent. I just think, there were some girls on our teams whose families lived in New Orleans, so they lost everything. So, I think it just puts everything into perspective. Be thankful for what you have, control what you can control and don’t stress about everything else. You could drive yourself crazy thinking about the what-ifs and everything that could be happening.”
Be thankful for what you have, control what you can control and don’t stress about everything else. You could drive yourself crazy thinking about the what-ifs and everything that could be happening.”- Leeann Laing
What advice would you give to a current swimming and diving student-athlete at Tulane?
“Take advantage of all the opportunities, athletically, academically and professionally, just anything that Tulane has to offer. Just really make sure that you’re taking advantage of all of that because it will serve you well in life. Just to have fun. Being a swimmer, waking up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. every morning, going to practice, going to class, going to practice, it can sometimes not be the most fun. But, just find the small things each day that get you excited, whether that’s your teammates or whatever it is, just have fun. Because it goes by really quickly and then you’re in the real world. So just enjoy it.”
You then came back to work in the Tulane Athletics department while pursuing your Masters of Business Administration, which you received in 2012. What was it like coming back to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and coming back to Tulane after being a student-athlete here?
“I love New Orleans as a city. I think it’s an amazing place. And Tulane always has a special place in my heart. From the first time I walked on campus there, it just felt like home to me. So, when I graduated from college, I knew that I wanted to work in sports, but I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to go professional or college, or what route I wanted to take. So, when a position opened up at Tulane, just an entry-level position, working with different teams and doing all kinds of different things, I was super excited to get that opportunity to come back. I still had a lot of friends at Tulane who swam in New Orleans, so it was nice to kind of be able to reconnect with them. Getting the opportunity to work with the swim team when they came back was great. When they hired their head coach – Lena Guarriello – that was my assistant coach when I swam there, so it was really nice. We obviously knew each other, and I could kind of help her with whatever she needed because I had a swimming background, but we also had a previous relationship. That was really cool, just to be a part of the team coming back. And if I was coming back, I had to get a Tulane degree, that was the original plan, so I had to follow through on that. Just being able to work in athletics, there’s so many things you don’t think about when you’re a student-athlete because everything is just done for you and you’re told where to be and what to do. Seeing it from the other side was extremely eye-opening to me because there’s just so much that goes into all of the planning and preparation. Between going back to school and working, it led me into my career today. I’m super thankful for that.”
What are you doing now, career-wise?
“I work at the University of Richmond. I am the associate athletic director for business. It’s been a little bit of a route to get here, this is my fourth university that I’ve worked at, but I love it. I love working in college athletics, even now in the uncertain times that are happening, it’s stressful but I still definitely do enjoy it.”
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