Boston College Star Says Family Key to Her Success

After finishing a remarkable four years at Boston College, Carolyn Swords was selected by the Sky as the 15th overall selection in the 2011 WNBA draft.

Although Swords acquired a long list of accolades during her college career, including achieving All-ACC first team honors for three consecutive seasons, and putting up enough points to become BC�s second all-time leading scorer, Swords remains quite modest, attributing her success to a close-knit family and strong family values.

�My family is my biggest form of support and they�re happy for me to be getting this opportunity,� Swords says. �As long as I am enjoying myself, my family will always be there. My parents wanted me to be very active while I was younger and basketball is a great source of energy for me.�

Growing up in an athletic family, her brother and father being professional athletes themselves, there was a lot of encouragement to be active from an early age. Swords embraced it gamely and has been very active in sports ever since.

�It�s a good arena for us to challenge ourselves and grow,� Swords says. �For me, it�s a great place to take risks and I have learned a lot of life skills through athletics and I have met great people in the process. And I have come very far in my life because of it. It�s just a great environment.�

Beyond basketball, Swords also enjoys reading and drawing, but when she can, spending time with her family is most important. It is the closeness with her family that helped her grieve with heartbreaking losses in her life.

�My parents passed away when I was younger,� Swords says. �So that was tough. And I went to live with my aunts and cousins. But they have been a real source of strength for me. I am here because of the support of many people and I couldn�t be more thankful.�

Looking back, Swords sees that the support from her family helped her to overcome obstacles in her personal life that she couldn�t have handled on her own. But knowing the support is there also drives her to challenge herself with the highest of expectations for herself in athletics. Making the WNBA is her next goal, and she is ready for it.

�I just need to learn as much as I can,� Swords says. �I really love to learn and I think it�s very important for me as a player. I am playing with some of the best players in the world, so I know I just need to really work hard.�

No matter what happens, Swords knows she has the support of her family, and she will have given her best effort.