“I could swim before I could walk!”

So exclaimed Rutgers junior backstroker Natalie Schick.

“My mom enrolled us in a ‘mom and baby’ swim class when I was very, very young,” offered the Madison, Wisconsin native. “I took to the water right away, loving it from Day One. You can say swimming’s in my blood — my uncle was a college swimmer and was good enough to qualify for an Olympic Trials. Swimming is a very big deal in Madison; there are 13 local pools, and the programs are strong. By the time I was seven years old, I was swimming with the All-City Swim League. At nine years old, I joined their club swimming program, taking part in meets all year. It was so much fun!”

Her interest in and passion for climate action is of only a slightly more recent vintage, so the cognitive neuroscience and psychology major is ready to bring the same drive and energy to the climate fight as she does to exploding out of the starting block in a backstroke race. Becoming the newest member of the EcoAthletes Champions roster is the next logical step for her #ClimateComeback journey.

“I found out about the organization from my Rutgers teammate and EcoAthletes Champion Halé Oal,” she recalled. “When I heard that I could use my platform as a student-athlete to make a difference on climate and to, in whatever ways I can, make the world a bit of a better place, I said ‘sign me up!’ I am competitive and so I want to do as much as I can.”

Her competitive nature really came to the fore when she was 11. It was then, after having given up all other sports, that she started to take her swimming to the next level.

“I was totally committed from that point forward,” said Schick. “I made the state tournament in backstroke as a sophomore in high school. The next year I ranked ninth in the state, while also making the states in my secondary stroke, the butterfly.”

With her senior season in jeopardy due to COVID restrictions, Schick moved to the Houston, Texas area — the swimming season would go on there — to live with a relative and to finish out high school. Her college recruitment had begun much earlier.

“As a freshman, I knew I wanted to swim in college and knew that I could make it at the Division III level or maybe at mid-major D-Is,” she shared. “Then I got pretty good in my junior year and that opened the door to the big D-I schools. Since this was during COVID, my recruitment was all virtual. The amazing Rutgers culture came through loud and clear over Zoom, which was unique. I loved the team, so my decision was an easy one.”

Schick’s Scarlet Knights career started swimmingly as a freshman — she recorded personal bests in the 100m and 200m backstroke and in the 500m freestyle, her new secondary event. Then a shoulder injury, a common plight for swimmers, short circuited her sophomore campaign.

“I had a posterior and anterior Labrum tear fixed as well as an extremely loose shoulder joint that would dislocate often on my left shoulder,” she lamented. “It was very painful. I had surgery on it last August and thankfully it was successful. The team and the coaches have been so supportive, which was a very big deal. I am on track to be back in the team this coming season and I can’t wait!”

Much like her early love of swimming, Schick’s passion for the workings of the human brain goes as far back as she can remember.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the brain,” marveled Schick. “How we process the world, how we think, and how brain chemistry and our environment influence our cognitive processes. It might sound strange but from a very young age, I knew I wanted to go into neuroscience.”

 Her interest in climate was piqued in high school.

“We watched climate-themed documentaries in class, and those films helped convince me that I had to do what I could to make a difference,” she affirmed. “I joined the Green Club at school and took part in the Greta Thunberg-led school walkout, which was just incredible. Interestingly, during my first two years at Rutgers, my friends have not really discussed climate change much. That’s one of things that needs to change, that will change now that I am an EcoAthletes Champion.”

Having already begun to stake out a position at the intersection of Green and Sports, Schick is also interested in a different, rarely-visited confluence: the intersection of climate attitudes, psychology and neuroscience: “It is fascinating to me that a significant section of the population denies climate change or minimizes its impacts, its seriousness. Why is that? How does the brain react to vast, existential, seemingly hopeless problems like climate change? What parts of the brain are responsible for the various reactions in different individuals? What can be done from drug intervention and/or talk therapy perspectives to tackle climate denial?”

EcoAthletes CEO and founder Lew Blaustein believes that Natalie Schick has a chance to be a real #ClimateComeback difference maker because of her unique, multi-faceted points of view.

“Natalie’s curiosity and open-mindedness when it comes to climate, sports, psychology and brain chemistry will certainly help EcoAthletes as we work to accelerate the #ClimateComeback,” Blaustein asserted. “I can envision Natalie’s research leading to big advances in this arena just I can picture her powering out of the starting block, back arched, reaching for the lead in the pool. We are lucky to have her on the Champions team!”

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