Joel Thatcher swims through senior year

Written by Ally Abruscato. Photo courtesy of Joel Thatcher.

Time at SCAD is dwindling for the 2022 graduating class. For months, many have been working hard on their senior projects and for athletes, they’re also focusing on sports. For example, Joel Thatcher, a 4th-year writing major, splits his time between his papers and the pool. As a swimmer for SCAD, Thatcher lives the unique life of an art school athlete.

Thatcher has been swimming most of his life and developed a greater love for it while at SCAD. He loves the atmosphere of the team and “everyone knows what their passion is, and they found it.” Unlike other schools, “everyone [on the swim team] has their artistic pursuit.” Their passion for art stretches beyond the classroom as the players present their work to their teammates during training trips. It’s incredible to see how artists combine their love for art with their love for their sport. 

Those who aren’t student-athletes might wonder how they do it, especially at an art school like SCAD. Between practices and classes, it’s no easy feat. For Thatcher, it’s all about time management. He’s in the water for a few hours a day and spends his other time at the gym. Because he’s been doing it since he was a kid, it’s natural and inevitably, he’s gotten used to this busy schedule. 

Thatcher is currently putting together a portfolio for his senior project as a writing major. At this time, he’s collecting some of his favorite pieces – some of which were published in Square 95. Since he does a fair amount of feature stories, he’s been able to meet a lot of people through his work. Thatcher said he “loved the process of meeting new people and learning their stories.” 

After graduation, Thatcher plans to do one year of grad school at SCAD and continue on the swim team. Because of the pandemic, he has another year of eligibility left that he’d love to use. After that, Thatcher will work for his family business with his dad and sister; the company was started about three years ago and provides concept work for theme parks. Before then, Thatcher has time to enjoy SCAD life and swim meets. 

Out of all of his memories of SCAD, Thatcher most enjoyed the swim meets, especially the national ones. Being able to see his hard work pay off is extremely rewarding.

Overall, Thatcher has won seven NAIA titles, including three in the 500 freestyle, three in the 1650 freestyle and one in the 200 freestyle. He is typically a distance freestyler, doing “all the long stuff that no one wants to do.” 

As his time at SCAD comes to a close, Thatcher reflects that it’s important to “enjoy the time while you have it.” College is a unique and exciting experience that deserves to be appreciated. So, no matter how stressful classes, life, sports and anything else can be, “just…enjoy the ride.”