The time has come for our seniors to move on to the next chapter of their lives. For senior Noah Kanan, the next chapter allows him to keep doing what he loves, diving. Kanan will be spending the next four years at the one and only Cornell University.

Kanan’s diving career began when he was six. “My mom was a gymnast and a gymnastics coach, but she didn’t want me to do gymnastics because there are a lot of injuries, so she recommended diving,” said Kanan. Little did he know, diving would become one of the most important aspect of his life.

Every athlete needs a little motivation. For Kanan, that came from his first coach and two time olympic bronze medalist, Janet Ely. “When I turned 10, I won nationals. So, in my age group I was the best in the US, and she was the one that pushed me to get there,” said Kanan.

Throughout his years diving, Kanan has gotten first place in nationals, All-American three years in a row, second at state, qualified at every national competition since he was eight and got recruited to college.

When it came to college, Kanan never would have thought he would be going to an ivy league. “Cornell emailed me first, and it ended up being a really good fit,” said Kanan.

With all his success, there have been some major injuries, but they did not stop him from doing what he loves in college. “I sprained my ankle, I tore both of my labrums and I’ve hit my head on the board. I also dislocated my knee cap, tore my quad and tore two ligaments in my knee. Those had me out for a while,” said Kanan.

Kanan held off on fixing a lot of his injuries in order to be recruited. That was also a part of how he picked his college. “If they were okay with me being out until college, then it was a good fit for me,” said Kanan.

“It was hard though because almost every practice, my shoulders would pop out of place, but I couldn’t stop,” said Kanan. Without his perseverance and determination, Kanan would have never been able to live out his dream diving at an ivy league.

Kanan is still in the process of recovering from his shoulder injuries. However, he is ready to jump back on the diving board and show Cornell what he’s got.

For divers, there is not much of a future in that career. “I’m going to stop diving after college. I am going into college as a biology and society major, but that might change,” said Kanan. Kanan is fortunate enough to be admitted into the school of his dreams, all while playing the sport he loves.

This opportunity will benefit him even out of college as well. “The alumni that comes with [graduating from Cornell] will help me get jobs easier and get paid higher,” said Kanan. So many doors have been opened to him, all because of his exceptional talent as a diver.

“I can’t wait to move on to the next chapter of my life and meet all different kinds of people. It’s weird to think that college is finally here, but I have never been more excited for anything in my life,” said Kanan.