Brenda Taylor `01

There are athletes who dream of going to the Olympics, and then there are those who will actually go. If Brenda N. Taylor `01 keeps up her athletic prowess, hers will be a name to look for in the 2004 Olympics.

Over this past year, co-captain of the track team Taylor broke meet records nearly everywhere she went, and her time of 56.11 seconds in the 400 hurdles is one of the fastest this year. She has won the indoor track title, Ivy League titles, and IC4A and ECAC titles.

And she is not done yet.

After graduation, she is continuing her training for the US Nationals in the end of June and will keep training for the 2004 Olympics.

After that, Taylor plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in mental health or fashion.

But four years ago, she did not even think she would end up here at Harvard.

“I come from a tiny town about as backcountry as it gets, and I thought would just go to UNC. I didn’t even know where Harvard was,” Taylor says.

Now that she is graduating, she has no regrets having attended Harvard.

“I am really going to miss the people here, and I think that’s what I’m going to take away from my experience, more that what I learned in Chem 27,” she laughs.

“Doing track affected my experience in every single way. Being an athlete requires a different type of discipline, and I’ve cherished every second I spent on the track,” she says.

That immense amount of time has translated into success for Taylor, giving Harvard a name in track.

“Every year we go to Texas, and they ask us, ‘Y’all do track out there?’”

With Taylor’s achievements to point to, we can certainly say we do.

Sarah C. Haskins `01