Waukesha Olympian Sharing Her Energy With New Carroll Students

Gwen Jorgensen’s Olympic , but that’s not keeping the triathlete from sharing her experience next week at

Jorgensen, a graduate from , is the keynote speaker for Carroll University’s opening convocation at 3 p.m. Sept. 5. The event is free and open to the public in the auditorium of the Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave. Carroll’s theme for the 2012-13 school year is energy.

From the

Jorgensen, a triathlete, will discuss the energy and drive it took to become one of the world’s leading athletes in the triathlon and her journey to the Olympics.

A standout in both swimming and track at Waukesha South High School, Jorgensen was a three-sport athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her Olympic debut at the 2012 London games came nearly a year to the day after she shocked the triathlon world by running her way to a second-place finish and a spot on the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. She has two World Cup wins on the triathlon circuit.

The 26-year-old accountant at Ernst & Young in Milwaukee competed in the Olympics for the first time. Her time of two hours, six minutes and 34 seconds was not enough to fight against Nicola Spirig, the athlete from Switzerland who took the gold.

“Not my day yesterday,” Jorgensen wrote on her Twitter account after the race earlier this month. "Wish I could do it over but can't. Instead using that internal motivation going forward. Thankful for the opportunity.”

Jorgensen grew up swimming at her grandparents’ pool, her mother, Nancy Jorgensen, wrote in a recent blog, and swimming was “her first love and her first sport.”

“What sealed the deal for Gwen was an opportunity to compete in the Optimist Club’s annual swim meet,” Nancy Jorgensen wrote in the blog. “While her sister claims she’s still traumatized by the required starting dive, Gwen can credit the Optimists and Waukesha Express Swim Team for piquing her interest and offering solid training in swimming fundamentals.”

Carroll Welcoming 905 New Students

Carroll University will see 740 freshman and 165 transfer students on its campus this year, according to the news release. The opening convocation is the school’s welcome to the new students.

The new students will be led by a single piper from the Billy Mitchell Scottish Pipe Band in Carroll’s traditional march to the Shattuck Music Center, where they will be greeted by faculty in academic regalia, states the news release.

Meanwhile, freshman will move into the campus residence halls on Friday. Carroll University has been given permission by the city to close Wright Street from North East Avenue to North Charles Street from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the move-in day.