From Crimson Tide to metropolis life, swimmer Derek Maas has carried out all of it

Derek Maas, a pupil on the NYU Grossman Faculty of Drugs, is a brand new face to the college’s Males’s Swimming & Diving workforce. Initially from Holland, Michigan, Maas attended The College of Alabama to earn his Bachelor of Science in Biology previous to his begin within the metropolis

As a result of pandemic, Maas remained eligible to compete on the collegiate stage for another 12 months, permitting him to signify NYU within the 2023-2024 season regardless of having accomplished his undergraduate training.

Earlier than turning into a Violet, Maas had an unimaginable run with the Crimson Tide, each within the classroom and the pool. In his senior 12 months alone, Maas earned a bunch of accolades, such because the NCAA Elite 90 Award — offered to student-athletes on the NCAA championships with the best GPA — and the SEC Educational Honor Roll. He additionally notched first-team All-America Honors within the 100 breaststroke, and second-team All-America Honors within the 200 breaststroke and 200 medley relay.

“I cherished it there,” Maas stated about his time in Tuscaloosa. “There was an ideal mixture of educational and athletic focus. I positively wouldn’t be right here with out my teammates and coaches.

With the calls for of being each in medical faculty and swimming, Maas has been compelled to discover a stability between the 2. His days are usually jam packed — he begins off the day at 7:15 a.m., practising for nearly two hours earlier than heading straight uptown to lessons for an additional three hours. He manages to seize a brief hour-long break to eat lunch earlier than going again to the classroom for an additional two and a half hours. Maas then goes again downtown to the Palladium Athletic Facility for an hour-long lifting session earlier than heading again uptown for an additional assembly. 

It isn’t till 7 p.m. that Maas really has time to breathe. He usually eats dinner and, if he has time, hangs out along with his buddies — though typically he’s compelled to spend all the evening learning as an alternative.

Practices and meets minimize into most of Maas’ research time, so he prioritizes studying as a lot as attainable throughout lectures. He prioritizes faculty above all else, as is evinced by his 4.0 undergraduate GPA, his MCAT rating of 525 out of 528, and his admission to Grossman, which has a 2.1% acceptance charge. Maas utilized to about 30 different faculties and was severely contemplating Vanderbilt College, Northwestern College and Washington College in St. Louis earlier than in the end committing to NYU to pursue dermatology. 

“There actually isn’t any place like NYU by way of alternatives that you’ve whereas in class and after,” Maas stated. “The totally paid tuition is unimaginable and to have the ability to try this for each pupil was a giant draw for me to return right here.” 

Heading south to Alabama was a change of tempo for the Midwest native, and shifting to New York was one other adjustment. Nevertheless, Maas has come to like the fast tempo of metropolis life. Now, there’s no scarcity of how to spend his — albeit restricted — free time. He’s adjusting nicely, and stated he already has “two groups” right here at NYU: medical faculty and swimming.

Regardless of already having been a star-studded swimmer in a world class and extremely aggressive Division I program, Maas continues to convey the identical enthusiasm to NYU. He’s excited to get to work along with his new coaches and teammates, regardless of it being Division III.

“I’m most excited for the NCAAs,” Maas stated. “We will do some injury.”

Contact Nicole Ranile at [email protected].