The recent honor cord and regent's scholar graduate at Parkway High School inked scholarship papers to compete collegiately at UL-Monroe, nailing down a rarity for a northwest Louisiana teen.
Darwin will join the non-NCAA-sanctioned water ski program at the Monroe school this fall and is expected to be the only American female skier on the starting unit.
"I went to a tournament in Monroe last year and that really kick-started me thinking about skiing at the collegiate level," Darwin said. "I liked the program, coach (Treina) Landrum and the school, so I decided to sign with them."
The Warhawks are gaining one of the most decorated young female skiers this area has produced in quite some time — possibly ever. Darwin has been a national top-20 performer by USA Water Ski since 1999, ranked in the top four for the South Central Region since 1999, a national championship medalist in 2003 and 2005, selected to South Central Region Junior All-Star Team in 2002 by USA Water Ski, selected to South Central Region Junior Team every year since 1998 and Louisiana's top-ranked junior female since 2004.
"We are very excited to have Emily join our team and we believe that she'll fit right in," Landrum said. "We've known her family for a long time, because the sport of skiing is a small world. It wasn't a hard decision at all to sign Emily because she is a solid skier."
Landrum said Darwin is the first Louisiana skier she has signed in a number of years.
What has become a passion began as a passing fancy when she was 3 years old, skiing behind her father's boat on Lake Bistineau. Darwin began skiing competitively at 7 and started winning events soon thereafter.
She received a set-back at age 13 when she tore her ACL for the first time while attempting to complete a ski jump. She gave up jumping after that but continued to slalom and trick ski. Darwin tore her ACL a second time in December 2006 while cheerleading for Parkway.
But with some pushing by her father, Darwin returned to the water and continued to progress.
"My dad had to push me a lot at the beginning because there were times when I didn't want to go," Darwin said. "But I realized that this is my time with my father and we have a relationship that a lot of fathers and daughters don't have. I don't think I've ever skied when my father wasn't driving me."
Darwin typically practices three times a week and competes in tournaments every other weekend. She'll be in Covington competing this weekend and has six or seven more tournaments, plus regionals and nationals on tap for this summer.
"I report to ULM about two days after completing nationals, so that will be tough," Darwin said.
Through the years, Darwin has learned to adjust to the good and bad of being a competitive water skier.
"When I'm on the water, it's my time to relax ... to put everything else out of my mind," she said. "It's work, but it's also fun."
And the bad?
"There really haven't been any drawbacks other than being away from my friends when I'm gone so much," Darwin said. "It's not too bad, though, because we make time when I'm home."
When she wasn't studying, skiing or cheerleading, Darwin was involved in the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, ASTRA and Beta Club at Parkway.
She considered signing with a school in Florida, as well as UL-Lafayette, before deciding on ULM.
"Coach Landrum seemed to have the most interest in me and the team was very welcoming when I visited there," Darwin said. "They also offered me the most scholarship money, plus I have TOPS and another scholarship that should pay for most of my school."
Darwin plans to major in biology at ULM.
She will return to Shreveport after graduation to pursue medical school with the hopes of becoming a radiologist.
