UIC Athletics will hold its 2017 Hall of Fame Banquet and Reunion on Saturday, Jan. 28. This year's class features representatives from five different sports, one former coach and long-time administrator, and the first men's basketball team to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
 
Leading up to the celebration, UICFlames.com will be profiling each of the 2017 inductees, which include Tricia Charbonneau (Softball), Tom Cisar (Men's Golf), Jay DeMerit (Men's Soccer), Erin Garrett-Guevara (Women's Swimming), Justin Johnson (Baseball), Denny Wills (Coach/Administrator) and the 1997-98 men's basketball team.
 
Erin Garrett-Guevara (Women's Swimming, 1996-1999)
By: Marinko Kuljanin
 
Erin Garrett-Guevara started her UIC swimming career competing in the backstroke, a style she excelled at, but one that was not her favorite. Garrett-Guevara won individual titles and was the top swimmer for the Flames in 100 meter backstroke. Her most-loved swimming style, and the one she had much experience in, was the butterfly. She would not get the opportunity to race in it until her junior and senior seasons.
 
"I was always asking for a chance and my teammates, being so annoyed of my asking, were even saying 'Give her a chance,'" said Garrett-Guevara.
 
It turned out to be a great idea as she ended up breaking UIC and MCC records for the 100 meter butterfly in her junior year, and broke them again as a senior.
 
Garrett-Guevara began swimming very early in her life and started swimming competitively around eight or nine. She swam for Maria High School all four years and got a scholarship to UIC.
 
At UIC, Garrett-Guevara majored in Biology in the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She was always interested in the sciences and with her biology degree, she was hoping to become a veterinarian. Unfortunately with her classes and swimming taking up most of her time, she never had time to volunteer and to add experience to her resume.
 
Even managing classes and swimming was a lot for Garrett-Guevara. As a swimmer, she had to consume many calories and consume them frequently to avoid getting tired at practice. While writing essays during breaks in classes, Garret said, "I was writing in one hand and holding a sandwich with the other."
 
She also made sure to get energy in classes as well. "I probably ate in class a lot," said Garrett-Guevara. She would eat during lectures and when in lab, since food was not allowed, she would supplement by drinking Ensure.
 
Since swimming is an individual sport, Garrett-Guevara never had a rivalry with any certain school, but she remembers a time she was facing an athlete from Wright State named Cathy. Garrett-Guevara's coach and teammates were telling her that she had to beat her. The team had a great sense of comradery and the mantra was always to work hard to win. Garret ended up beating Cathy at the meet. "She was a freshman but she was really good," said Garrett-Guevara.
 
Another race etched in Garrett-Guevara's mind was her last race. She felt sick and sluggish the whole day, due to a bout of stomach flu. Not one to back off from a challenge, Garrett-Guevara raced her last event. While close, she ended up winning her final meet.
 
"I was just gassed because everything was over," said Garrett-Guevara. "I started thinking what I was going to do for the rest of my life."
 
Garret took the path of law enforcement. Two years after her graduation, Garrett-Guevara joined the police academy in 2001. Getting there was a strenuous task as she had to do a multitude of tests including written and psychological ones.
 
When she started, her first patrol was on the South Side of Chicago bordering Englewood. She then moved to the southeast side of the city, a more industrial area. She later got to work on one of her favorite patrols, the bike unit. She would bike around the city and deal with municipal violations.
 
Swimming never left her life, however. Garret used to lifeguard during the summer when school was over and she stuck with her lifeguarding duties in the summer while in the police department. Her favorite thing about it was the lifeguarding competitions. Filled with swimming events, Garrett-Guevara was able to compete with other lifeguards around the country. She ended up in places like New York, Cape May, New Jersey, Daytona Beach, and many others.
 
"I got to travel all around the United States because of lifeguarding," said Garrett-Guevara.
 
Athletics never left Garrett-Guevara's life. She works out regularly, but the problem she had when she first started working out after her athletic career was the intensity. It was hard for her as a former college athlete to work out at a normal pace and she needed to take a step back.
 
"You got to tell yourself that you don't need to push yourself anymore," said Garrett-Guevara. "The pressure is off. What are you trying to prove?"
 
In 2015, Garrett-Guevara graduated from St. Xavier University and became a registered nurse. She was given credit for the classes she took at UIC, and for that she was grateful. "I did not want to go through the science classes again," said Garrett-Guevara.
 
Garrett-Guevara is currently part of the Marine Unit of the Chicago Police Department where she is able to swim even more. She searches the waters for evidence of crime, and saves people that are drowning. Garrett-Guevara and her colleague Matt are the fastest swimmers in her unit. ""The other always say that speed doesn't matter," said Garrett-Guevara laughing.
 
If she would change something about her career at UIC, Garrett-Guevara would have liked to plan things out while looking at the bigger picture. Garrett-Guevara was worried what she was going to do after school.
 
Now she is glad she has the ability to take different paths in her life. When she hits twenty years with the police force, she wants to use her nursing degree and become a midwife, someone that assists in child birth.
 
"I enjoy having options in my life," said Garrett-Guevara.