Dec. 17, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - Last Sunday we asked the question, "Who am I?" Today, the identity of the mystery Stanford gymnast is revealed: it's Stanford sophomore Kristina Vaculik. In a poem posted last Sunday on GoStanford.com, Vaculik gave some clues to her identity. Among the characteristics she revealed: "I am artistic and driven" and "I try to make the most out of every day."

Enjoy Kristina's Q&A with team manager, Tori Lewis:

Tori: How have your finals been going?

Kristina: Pretty good. I've had three finals this week. I'm doing [human biology], so this year I've been doing the core [requirements]. Just been studying a lot for that!

Tori: What are you looking forward to during the upcoming winter break?

Kristina: Just going home and seeing my family and spending time with my siblings.

Tori: What are you looking forward to next quarter?

Kristina: So that's when the season will be getting underway, so I'm really excited for that. Also, I'll be starting a new quarter of classes. I'm just excited for this quarter to end and to transition into next quarter because winter tends to be the most exciting!

Tori: How has it felt coming back to Stanford and SWG after taking time off to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games?

Kristina: I've loved it here since I've been back and I missed it a lot when I was gone. It's been great to be back with the team and to get back into the swing of things here. To get back to studying again! I kind of forgot what that was like while I was away. [laughs] But overall it has been great!

Tori: Do you have a favorite memory from SWG so far?

Kristina: That's hard! I've had a lot of good times here. But, you know, I haven't even spent half my time here yet so I'm really looking forward to the next few years especially and I know this year will be really exciting as well because we have such a great team.

Kristina: So I have this tendency to disappear sometimes! At one of the meets, we pretended that I was lost somewhere and we tried to pull that over on the coaches. They know the team too well, so they knew I was just hiding from them.

Tori: The team's motto this season is "All In. Every Moment." Is there a particular time that message really resonated with you?

Kristina: I think it just describes us in general because this team is really devoted. We have a common goal, which is to do our best, and be the best by the end of this competition season. This whole preseason we've all been really sticking together and working really hard. I think that was like a daily focus for us and I think we really attacked that.

Tori: What should we expect from SWG this season?

Kristina: I would say you should expect great things! We've been working really hard and we just can't wait for the season to start.