Monday, October 11, 2021
Annie Kramer Aims to Make Difference in Her Sport and Communities
Annie Kramer, a former Trident Aquatics Club member now swimming for the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, has always been drawn to leadership positions. It is a trait that she has used and been drawn to since her early childhood and is something that has stuck with her ever since.
It also is a trait that she credits back to her Cherokee Nation heritage.
“I get the heritage from my dad’s side, and we can trace our own heritage all the way back to the Trail of Tears,” she said. “My dad always stressed the importance of learning our heritage — everything that my ancestors have done to influence how the Cherokees settled in Oklahoma, learning about those important facts and how instrumental certain people in our family were in Oklahoma history.”
The Kramer family, who are members of the Cherokee nation, grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The town features a large population of registered Cherokee Nation members who continue to impact and reside in the community to this day.
“There was always a good sense of pride to our heritage [within Broken Arrow],” she said. “Community pride is such a huge part of how the Cherokee Nation works and how all the members, past and present, live their lives.”
To Kramer, that community-pride factor was also evident within the Oklahoma Swimming Local Swimming Committee (LSC). As she continued to make strides in the water, she found an affinity for the comradery and leadership displayed through the sport in her home state despite not always having access to aquatic facilities.
"Growing up, it was sometimes a fight for water time," Kramer explained. "Everyone who swims in Oklahoma, when you have an opportunity to train or race in a big long-course pool in some of the bigger cities, we never took it for granted. We loved our state championships meets and sectionals because we could see everyone from across the state. We had a good community across the entire LSC because we are smaller and often swim in the same pools."
As she continued to make strides in the pool, another door opened for her and her leadership traits. This time, it came on the governance side of the sport.
During her junior year of high school, Kramer was nominated to be a Junior Athlete Representative within the Oklahoma Swimming LSC. From there, she was nominated to a national committee, eventually earning the title of Senior Athlete Representative for USA Swimming’s Central Zone.
“It’s been such a rewarding experience so far,” Kramer said of her experience in the governance side of the sport. “I’ve gotten to meet so many great athletes, leaders and mentors from across the nation. I have loved it so much.”
Now, with two years left at Incarnate Word, Kramer is hoping to use her leadership skills to impact the sport across her peers, her hometown and state and the Indigenous people community.
“I want to inspire others to use their leadership skills, strengths and abilities to grow their communities,” she said. “I think leadership for the greater good is so strong in the Cherokee Nation. I hope that Indigenous People are just aware of Learn to Swim programs across the nation and have enough access to it, so they are safe around the water they come in contact with. Hopefully, if they get involved in Learn to Swim programs, they fall in love with swimming just like I did.”
It also is a trait that she credits back to her Cherokee Nation heritage.
“I get the heritage from my dad’s side, and we can trace our own heritage all the way back to the Trail of Tears,” she said. “My dad always stressed the importance of learning our heritage — everything that my ancestors have done to influence how the Cherokees settled in Oklahoma, learning about those important facts and how instrumental certain people in our family were in Oklahoma history.”
The Kramer family, who are members of the Cherokee nation, grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The town features a large population of registered Cherokee Nation members who continue to impact and reside in the community to this day.
“There was always a good sense of pride to our heritage [within Broken Arrow],” she said. “Community pride is such a huge part of how the Cherokee Nation works and how all the members, past and present, live their lives.”
To Kramer, that community-pride factor was also evident within the Oklahoma Swimming Local Swimming Committee (LSC). As she continued to make strides in the water, she found an affinity for the comradery and leadership displayed through the sport in her home state despite not always having access to aquatic facilities.
"Growing up, it was sometimes a fight for water time," Kramer explained. "Everyone who swims in Oklahoma, when you have an opportunity to train or race in a big long-course pool in some of the bigger cities, we never took it for granted. We loved our state championships meets and sectionals because we could see everyone from across the state. We had a good community across the entire LSC because we are smaller and often swim in the same pools."
As she continued to make strides in the pool, another door opened for her and her leadership traits. This time, it came on the governance side of the sport.
During her junior year of high school, Kramer was nominated to be a Junior Athlete Representative within the Oklahoma Swimming LSC. From there, she was nominated to a national committee, eventually earning the title of Senior Athlete Representative for USA Swimming’s Central Zone.
“It’s been such a rewarding experience so far,” Kramer said of her experience in the governance side of the sport. “I’ve gotten to meet so many great athletes, leaders and mentors from across the nation. I have loved it so much.”
Now, with two years left at Incarnate Word, Kramer is hoping to use her leadership skills to impact the sport across her peers, her hometown and state and the Indigenous people community.
“I want to inspire others to use their leadership skills, strengths and abilities to grow their communities,” she said. “I think leadership for the greater good is so strong in the Cherokee Nation. I hope that Indigenous People are just aware of Learn to Swim programs across the nation and have enough access to it, so they are safe around the water they come in contact with. Hopefully, if they get involved in Learn to Swim programs, they fall in love with swimming just like I did.”