“What I think is really cool about having this whitewater park right next to me is that I can get a text message update that the dam is going to release 9,000 CFS or 14,000 CFS, and if I’m sitting in class I can just see that and be like, ‘Ohp, kayaking sounds better than accounting.”

Bribed with Happy Meals at a young age, it took Cat Hardman a few years to love to kayak. But once the boating clicked, she knew she would be kayaking for the rest of her life. She first came to Columbus for a freestyle event in her early teens and later, researching colleges meant finding a school near whitewater. For now, Columbus is home and the Chattahoochee is where you’ll find Cat between—or sometimes during—classes.

This is Cat Hardman and this is her Home Run.

Editor’s Note: Watch the full My Home Run series on YouTube.