By Rachael Gregory
FightingIllini.com

Alongside her accomplishments for the Illinois swimming and diving team, Kaylee Heimes can now add a research award to her résumé.

Heimes is a sophomore atmospheric sciences major in the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The Quakertown, Pennsylvania, native traveled to Boston in January for the American Meteorological Society's 100th annual meeting. Her research on orographic cloud systems in Idaho's Payette Mountains was awarded second place among submissions from both undergraduate and graduate students across the country.

Before taking the stage to present, some team members wished Kaylee luck through text message. After returning to Champaign-Urbana, she received an outpouring of support from the entire program. The coaching staff even surprised her by announcing the accomplishment before practice. "They were all super happy and super supportive, so it was cool to have that support."

When asked about preparation strategies, Heimes stated that her mentality was nearly identical to a meet day with the Fighting Illini. In fact, she was surprised at how similar the two events felt.

"The strategies from swimming and school tie together," Heimes said. "My mindset for the presentation was the exact same as when I get up to swim a race, which was cool to see."

With two years remaining for the Fighting Illini, Heimes looks forward to continued success in the pool and in the classroom. Her excitement was noticeable when speaking about next season's 2021 Big Ten Championship. Through her academic studies, Heimes is focused on digging deeper into the field of atmospheric sciences with coursework and further research. She is currently working to publish a paper based on January's award-winning project.

Whether in the pool or the classroom, Heimes credits her success to being passionate about what she does.

"Passion," she said. "You've got to have passion. If you have the drive, you will enjoy it even when it's hard."