Two decades removed from her college athletic experience, Dr. Ashley (Rowatt) Karpinos can quickly recall the most transformative moment of her Kenyon swimming experience. It's a moment representative of her career of putting others first.
As a freshman in 2000, Karpinos was competing in the Division III Swimming and Diving national championship and vying for her first individual national title. While racing in the 200-yard individual medley final, she took a peek at fellow competitors and thought, "A purple (Kenyon) cap next to me is OK, but a red cap isn't."
"Inside, of course, I wanted my individual best, but truly also wanted the best for our team," Karpinos said. "What mattered was how many purple caps touched before the red caps when we got to the end of that wall. In the middle of a race, in the heat of a championship event, truly that collaboration with a teammate was transformational."
Fortunately for Karpinos, hers was the first cap of any color to touch the wall that race, earning the first of three individual NCAA titles in her career. The Louisville, Kentucky, native went on to capture two additional relay national titles, critical victories toward the first of the Kenyon women's three team national championships between 2000-03. She was a 13-time All-American.
After only one swim season under legendary Kenyon head coach Jim Steen, Karpinos had already experienced a life-altering philosophy. Team success would always outweigh individual trophies. That midrace moment was the beginning of a transformative experience within college athletics, which made her achievement of being named the 2003 NCAA Woman of the Year that much more impactful.
When asked about the award recognition in 2003, Karpinos says she was humbled to be named the first Division III recipient of the NCAA Woman of the Year award, taking great honor in an award not solely focused on athletic success or titles, but also academic endeavors and community involvement.
"I remember being incredibly honored and surprised to be named Woman of the Year in 2003," Karpinos said. "I think it really shows the NCAA's commitment to honoring the diverse array of experiences and pursuits of excellence that female athletes have in all of their different endeavors."
Karpinos graduated summa cum laude from Kenyon with a degree in molecular biology before attending Vanderbilt for medical school.
"I chose a Division III school because I wanted to have that support system and encouragement to help me be my best future physician for my patients and best physician educator for the medical learners I teach now," Karpinos said. "Swimming for a school where everybody shares that same drive both in academics and in the pool was a mindset I was attracted to."
An enormous part of that support system was her coach. Steen, who retired in 2012 after nearly four decades building the Division III dynasty, notching 50 team national titles,had a tremendous impact on Karpinos.
"(Coach Steen) cared about our wellness broadly and had a very holistic view of the student-athlete and our role in college," Karpinos said. "He saw us way beyond just swimmers on the campus. That helped us push ourselves in the pool and push ourselves out of the pool. It didn't make sense to put all of our energies into personal growth athletically but leave behind the academic endeavors. And that was a mindset from coach Steen that when we're working hard in the pool, we're going to be working hard out of the pool, and vice versa."
Now as a primary care physician practicing Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, she cares for adults and children on an outpatient basis at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Additionally, she works closely with Vanderbilt student-athletes as a Sports Medicine specialist. Karpinos divides her time in the athletics space between the Commodores' swimming, cross country and track and field teams. Karpinos is also an associate program director for the Vanderbilt Internal Medicine-Pediatrics resident program, where she trains and teaches 24 residents, and serves as an Assistant Professor in Sports Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.
"I think for a lot of doctors who end up in sports medicine orthopedic fields, we're really inspired by our experiences as athletes," Karpinos said. "The opportunity to care for athletes is rewarding because I know how important optimal health is for a collegiate athlete."
The holistic view of health, instilled by Steen, has carried over into not only Karpinos' professional pursuits, but her personal endeavors as well.
Following her collegiate swimming career, Karpinos explored running and cycling and competed in triathlons during medical school. Today, she still loves swimming but enjoys watching her two sons, Elliott and Isaac, in the pool even more. Both Karpinos and her husband, former Kenyon swimmer Justin Karpinos, spend time with community groups made up of other former college athletes and college swimmers, keeping them all active and enjoying the sport for health benefits.
They even can be found taking part in friendly adult swim competitions at the conclusion of their sons' summer swim season.
"When I think back to being a student-athlete and what I learned, it was to be invested in the process and that the process of working for something great together is oftentimes more important even than the outcome," Karpinos said. "To redefine success as working harder than I thought I could work, working smarter, and working in ways and collaborating with teammates and coaches in new ways to challenge ourselves and move forward together."