WINTHROP — Raymond Whittaker has been swimming competitively since he was 10 years old, and it’s safe to say all his hard work has paid off.
On Wednesday morning in the hallways of Winthrop High School, the 17-year-old signed his National Letter of Intent (NLI) to swim at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Whittaker started his career with the Revere Sandsharks and later moved on to compete with Commonwealth Swimming, based out of Simmons University. He has been with the program for the last six years.
Whittaker said that the group of guys at the program is great, as is the competition.
“Every day it’s fun to be at practice and fun to be working every day, so that’s great,” Whittaker said. “I’m a very competitive person so every day I get in I try and do my best, and it pushes me to get better every day.”
It wasn’t until December 2020 that Whittaker realized he had the potential to be a Division I athlete. The Winthrop High student said that he dropped some time and really focused on becoming a better swimmer.
Whittaker will be majoring in engineering at Purdue. With the university having one of the best programs in the country, it was an easy choice for the 17-year-old. Whittaker also added that his parents were very excited when he ended up choosing the school.
“It was very emotional,” said Whittaker’s mother, Kathy, about watching her son sign his NLI. “He’s worked since he was 10 for this, so I’m very proud.”
Beside being an impressive swimmer, Whittaker is also among the top 10 of his class academically, with a 4.5 grade point average. Winthrop High School Principal Matt Crombie called Whittaker a role model for other students.
“He’s at the top of his class (and) he’s at the top of his swim team and that’s why he is going Division I,” said Crombie. “And not to be overlooked is that he is majoring in engineering. That’s a pretty intense program there (at Purdue) and I’m very confident that he is going to be successful.”
