A Top Student-Athlete Gains a New Kind of Confidence

Cavan Gormsen has spent most of her life performing under pressure. She qualified for Olympic Trials at 14, competes at the highest level of college swimming, and balances it all as a Commerce major concentrating in Finance and Management.

But for the UVA swimmer, her biggest breakthrough didn’t happen in the water. It happened in a classroom, standing in front of her peers, completely frozen.

“I was sweating. I was shaking. I couldn’t eat that morning,” the third-year recalls of her first public speaking assignment. “Then I saw the 30-second card, and my mind just went blank. I started rambling. It was a mess.”

For someone who has raced on national stages, it sounds unlikely, or maybe even surprising. But for Cavan, it marked the start of a different kind of growth, one that would reshape how she shows up as both a teammate and a leader.

Having grown up on Long Island, NY, she started swimming at 7, balancing other sports before committing fully. As a young teen, she hit an Olympic Trials cut in the 400-meter freestyle, opening doors to top programs and travel across the country and abroad.

And she did it on a sprained foot.

“I was just wrapping it, taking Advil, and pushing through,” she says. “Every flip turn hurt.”

That determination carried her to Grounds, where the team culture and academics sealed the decision. “I visited and just knew,” she says. “It felt like somewhere I could really see myself.”

What she didn’t expect was learning at McIntire.

“I came in thinking I would study economics. I knew nothing about business,” she says. “Then my athletic academic adviser told me about the Commerce program, thinking that I might be a good fit for it.” After taking a few prereqs, she found that she really enjoyed the subject, and with the help of Swimming teammates who were studying at McIntire, she applied and was accepted. “It felt like a completely new world opened up.”

As every Comm School student and alum can attest, the many opportunities that McIntire offers come with a host of challenges. Unlike the individual focus of swimming, the School’s Integrated Core program is built on collaboration and communication, and for Cavan, has been the hardest part of the curriculum.

“I used to hate presentations,” she admits. “I felt really uncomfortable being put on the spot.” So she approached it like training.

“I decided that it’s never going to happen again,” she says of the difficulties she faced in her first speech. “I just kept putting myself in situations where I had to speak.”

That included taking on the role as a UVA Women’s Swimming Captain.

At an early meet in Tennessee, the team was off. Cavan and the other captains called a meeting. “I wrote down my thoughts and structured it like we do in class,” she says. “I just tried to be clear and direct.”

The impact was immediate.

“Everyone started speaking up. The next day, the energy was completely different. We swam great,” she says, pointing out that she feels she’s found her voice this year. “Not just in school, but with the team.”

That growth is still ongoing. A recent exercise had her give a one-minute speech on a random company whose name was pulled from a jar.

“You just have to go off the top of your head,” she says. “That idea used to terrify me. Now I actually kind of enjoy it.”

Outside of the pool and classroom, she’s been finding balance in watercolor painting, often alongside teammates, in the rare moments where she can slow down and recharge.

As she looks ahead to a possible career in sales and trading, she remains drawn to high-pressure environments where quick thinking matters.

With that in mind, it’s clear that her biggest transformation has already taken place: knowing how to speak, lead, and be heard.