Annie Wiese broke her leg in middle school, but the stroke of bad luck turned out to be a good thing in the long run.
The Carmel resident and recent graduate of online school Indiana Connections Academy recently received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. Half of the scholarship is for academic excellence and half is for diving, a sport she fine-tuned after her injury.
“I went to Clay Middle School for sixth and seventh grade,” Wiese said. “Right before eighth grade I broke my leg. I had to have this trauma surgery, and I wouldn’t have been able to go to school for the entire first semester, anyway. I didn’t want to miss it and get behind, so I started online school.”
During her recovery, she was approached by a diving coach whose team was comprised strictly of homeschoolers.
“They practiced during the day. I tried it and it worked out for me,” Wiese said. “It’s different than other schools because of the versatility. It’s online and I could do my work on my time.”
Her hard work training even paid off in the form of a U.S. Olympic Trials qualification in 2014.
“I am very fortunate to be recruited to Notre Dame, so I am going to compete for the swimming and diving team,” Wiese said. “The team is cool because there are 25 female swimmers, and five of us girl divers. I just wanted to use diving to get me into the best university. I want to gain everything I can while attending a really good school.”
She plans to major in history and has a firm career goal.
“I want to be a presidential biographer. I want to have a Ph.D in U.S. Presidents,” Wiese said. “My dream job is to run the Kennedy Library, which is a branch of the National Archives in Boston.”
