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STUDENT-ATHLETE STORIES: BUCK’S BALANCING ACT BETWEEN SWIMMING AND SCHOOL

(Pictured above: Carter Buck competing at the 2022 Divisional Championships at Varsity Pool in November 2022 | Photo by Seyran Mammadov)

Each Thursday, varsityblues.ca will highlight a U of T student-athlete and their academic pursuits. Each of these students achieved first class honours with an AGPA of at least 3.50 in the previous academic year.  These are our Student-Athlete Stories.
 
Carter Buck started his University of Toronto career with an impossible decision: engineering or commerce?
 
The second-year Varsity Blues swimming standout was accepted into both of U of T's prestigious programs, but ultimately chose engineering.
 
"Through my connection to U of T swim coach Byron MacDonald, I was able to connect with swimming alumni who have done both programs to help me with the decision," said the London, Ont., native. "I was also able to also book a virtual appointment with engineering Dean, Christopher Yip, who helped me make my decision."
 
Buck, who swept the backstroke events at the 2021 OUA championships as a rookie, earned U SPORTS academic all-Canadian honours in his first year at U of T.
 
"I really enjoy the challenge that engineering gives me and I feel very rewarded for learning hard concepts and solving difficult problems," he said. "My classmates are awesome people, who are also driven individuals, and help me with understanding challenging topics, fill me in with missed lectures for sport, and are also great people to be around."
 
(Buck receives his U SPORTS academic all-Canadian certificate at the academic excellence breakfast in 2023 | Seyran Mammadov)
 
Buck credits the academic advisors with helping him balance academics his rigorous swimming schedule, which sees him in the pool twice a day most days.
 
"Engineering science has very good advisors and my advisor for my first three years in the program, Stephen Johns, is responsible for enabling me to successfully do this program," he said. "Before accepting my offer to study engineering science, I met with Stephen and we brainstormed a way to make a reduced course load work with my sport."
 
Although it is early in his undergraduate career, Buck has some ideas about what the future could hold for him.
 
"As of right now, I am unsure of what I exactly want to do with my degree," he said. "I am a big fan of Formula 1 racing and through studying either aerospace engineering or electrical and computer engineering, I would love to work for a Formula 1 team. I believe that both my love for learning and competitive spirit is what would make me enjoy this occupation."
 
(Buck swimming at a dual meet versus the Guelph Gryphons at Varsity Pool | Tiffany Luke)
 
Although it is hard, Buck praises U of T and offers some sound advice for those choosing their academic path.
 
"In my opinion, U of T is the best school academically across the board in Canada," he said. "Because of this, the school is definitely a tough school, but as my captain Graeme Aylward always says, 'nothing worth having comes easy' and I believe this to be true in sport, education and in my personal life. I believe that for this reason that the challenge that U of T possesses academically will set you up for life."
 
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