The mantel is crowded. Her trophy case is crammed. Two prestigious degrees fill the walls.
But to Kristin (Day) Shute, one achievement stands above the rest — the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The former Clarion diver has humbly accumulated success through each step of her journey. Shute, a highly decorated student-athlete, graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average and bachelor's degree in chemistry while also becoming an eight-time All-American and three-time NCAA national champion.
Soon after graduating, Shute traded the diving well for the exam room. She graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine with a doctoral degree in osteopathy in 2019 and is currently a radiology resident at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Seven years later, the Woman of the Year award still encapsulates the effort she put forth as a student-athlete.
"Graduating medical school does not stack up to winning Woman of the Year," Shute said. "All of your hard work that you've put in for academics and athletics, it really pulls all of that together and shows that you're a well-rounded person. Hearing that you've accomplished all that you hoped to do in all aspects, it's really incredible."
When Shute was recently inducted into Clarion's Hall of Fame, her husband, Brandon, was astounded reading the program, seeing the long list of his wife's accolades. Shute's mother, Sue Day, teased that her daughter might not know half of them.
That intense drive continues to guide Shute. A self-admitted perfectionist, she expects nothing but the best from herself.
"I'm honored to get awards, but I believe if you can put in the work, they come," Shute said.
During her freshman year at Clarion, Shute barely had a free moment. The day started with a 6 a.m. diving practice before classes. Then another diving practice in the afternoon before a half-hour evening drive to trampoline practice, a sport she gave up before her sophomore year. Weekends occasionally would consist of eight-hour study sessions.
"At that time, there was no dull moment," Shute said. "If I had 10 minutes between something, I would be studying or working on a paper. Any minute I could get, I was doing something to catch up or do a task. There was no relaxation or messing around."
Shute did not luck into any of her success — she willed it to existence with tenacious determination and the support of beloved diving coach Dave Hrovat. Time management and hard work are qualities she learned as a student-athlete that continue aiding her today. Whether it's at her radiology residency or life as a new mom to an almost 1-year-old boy, Parker, each day is a day to grow.
"Back whenever I was diving, I was always thinking about my goals. First it was making it to nationals, but then every day just getting better, or every meet getting a better score and learning from your mistakes," she said. "There's an internal drive just to always improve and do the best I can. I always thought about the goal. When times are getting tough or you are dragging, you have to think about what your bigger goal is. That's what keeps me going and keeps me improving.
"I never want to be the same as yesterday."
Kristin Shute and her father, Dennis Day, celebrate at the NCAA Woman of the Year ceremony in 2015. (Photos by Justin Tafoya / NCAA Photos)
Without hesitation, Shute admitted she's her own harshest critic. An error she made at the last meet of her collegiate career remains a source of motivation years later.
Shute won the 1-meter championship, an event she said was harder for her, before competing in her stronger event, the 3-meter. She said she came out of a dive too early, resulting in a fourth-place finish. The sting of not meeting her own standards took a toll on her and remains a sore subject today. She's never watched a replay of the event but uses that experience as fuel and shares advice for other people who have experienced failure.
"It was a big learning experience for me. It was a mistake, but looking back it didn't change anything. I still got to where I needed to be," said Shute, the 2014 College Swimming Coaches Association of America's Division II Women's Diver of the Year. "Being mad and upset is OK. You have to take the time for that. But you've got to build off of that. Look forward and use it as a steppingstone to see what you can learn from it and do better."
Shute has channeled those perfectionist qualities into her career now.
"Being a student-athlete and having to be busy all the time definitely helped me with medical school," she said. "As I work now, I know that I put a lot of time into things that some people don't. Some people don't pay attention to detail, and that's noticed."
Kristin Shute and husband Brandon have welcomed son Parker to the family. (Photo courtesy of Kristin Shute)
The Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, native has three more years of her residency in Hershey before she plans to move back home across the state. Due to her own experience as an athlete, Shute aims to specialize in musculoskeletal radiology. She described it as tying together sports medicine and orthopedics. The day-to-day responsibilities will be reading knee and elbow MRIs and X-rays, diagnosing broken bones and advising orthopedic surgeons.
No matter where her studies have taken her, Shute has continued to follow the yearly Woman of the Year award. Each year, she reaches out to the new winner on social media.
Earning the award was a monumental achievement that will forever remain special to Shute.
"Other than getting married and having kids, I don't think much will beat that," Shute said.
