The first Tuesday of each month, we interview someone from Charlotte Latin Athletics with twenty questions to help the CLS community get to know some of our athletes, coaches, and supporters a bit better.
 
This month, meet Drue Amin, a senior who was one of five team members that secured the first NCISAA girls' golf state title in Charlotte Latin history. She also plays basketball and soccer for the Hawks, helped establish a club called STEM Smarter to expose students to opportunities in STEM fields, works with Lower School students as part of the Hawks Lead program, and is a counselor with Latin Summer Camps. How does she juggle it all? Read on to learn more about Drue in this month's Tuesday 20.
 
1. What can you tell us about your immediate family?
My dad was born in India and immigrated to the United States when he was three. He moved around a lot and grew up in poverty, so he's worked very hard to get where he is. My mom was born in Baltimore. Her parents owned a Dunkin' Donuts and she worked there, so it was a very working-class upbringing for her. They met during college but they didn't go to the same schools. Dad went to Virigina Tech for two years, then changed majors and transferred to George Mason. He's an investment banker. Mom went to the University of Maryland and she is a CPA (certified public accountant) who owns her accounting business and does a lot of work with professional athletes. Then there are my brothers. Dilan (Class of 2020) used to swim for Latin. He went to Wake Forest and now lives and works in DC. Devan (Class of 2022) played tennis and soccer here. He is a senior this year at Elon, majoring in finance and planning to go into commercial banking.
 
2. How would you describe your family's dynamic?
We're close, but very independent. When I was younger, I felt left out from my brothers who are only a year apart and then I'm five years younger. I wanted to be older so I could do more with them. Now that I'm a senior, I hang out with them more and we do more together, although it's rare that we are actually all in one spot now. Our family went to Turks and Caicos for Thanksgiving and it was really great to be able to spend that time together.
 
3. Have you always lived in Charlotte and gone to Latin?
I was born in Charlotte, but we moved to Los Angeles a couple of months later for my dad's job. We lived there for four years, then moved back to Charlotte. I don't remember much about L.A. except that our house had a red door and there was an orange tree in our yard. I've lived here ever since and have always gone to school at Latin.
 
4. What have been your favorite or most impactful classes?
Sophomore year chemistry was the first class that I feel like I was fully engaged in and enjoyed. I like school and do well, but that class really interested me and made it memorable. Ms. Round was my teacher and she made the class very interactive and fun. We were always doing something. I don't like to sit and take notes; I prefer to be hands-on, doing labs.
 
5. Have you had any teachers that were particularly impactful?  
Ms. Round was great. She helped me figure out my learning style and how I process things best. Then Dr. Johnson has been my teacher since seventh grade and he also taught my brothers. I have him for both Latin and Greek, so I have spent a lot of time with him and we've gotten to connect. He helps me understand things and is always ready to listen when things are going rough and when they're going well. When I was younger, I remember Ms. Austin (kindergarten) and Mrs. Ashcraft (2^nd grade) especially from Lower School. Mrs. Ashcraft would give us Hershey Kisses on Fridays and just made things playful and fun with little incentives, like earning a "no shoe" day. Then Mr. Fullwood and Mr. Smith in Middle School. I've had so many amazing teachers who are understanding and nice that have helped me develop as a person. I feel like Latin does a really great job of fostering student-teacher relationships.
 
6. What have you found most challenging academically?
AP Bio with Dr. Gee was pretty challenging. It was really interesting, but it was tough to grasp some of the concepts. Dr. Gee was always willing to meet with me and help me understand. Latin (the language) has always been a bit challenging for me. I have ADHD and a processing disorder, so it's hard for me to read in English, and especially Latin. Last year, Mr. Wall would meet with me and help me understand it. I feel like there's such a good support system and I could go to any of the Latin teachers for help.
 
7. How has having ADHD impacted you?
It's a pretty recent diagnosis. I didn't get tested until high school, but I was taking the SAT and didn't finish any of the modules and it just seemed odd that I couldn't. It's always taken me longer to read and finish tasks and I felt like it wasn't normal, so it has been really helpful to now have that extra time. I've always worked hard and somehow always felt like I was coming up short, so now I'm able to see the results that I want from the work that I'm putting in.
 
8. In addition to taking calculus, AP chemistry, AP Latin, AP psych, honors Greek, and English, you're a three-sport athlete. It's a lot to manage. Do you ever want to just take a season off?
Sometimes. It does get tiring, especially in the middle of basketball season when I start wanting a bit of a break. During golf, we don't practice every day so that helps, but when we're only playing nine holes and it ends up being four hours, I'm ready to go home. I enjoy having soccer as the last one of the year. There's a lot of time between school and games, so it's easier to get your work done. And with practices right after school, I get home earlier on practice days (than with basketball). But I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have sports every day after school. Plus all of the relationships that I've made through each team make up most of my core memories from Latin.
 
9. Have you always played sports? Describe your athletic journey.
I think the first sport I did was soccer. I was in the CSA program for a long time. My brothers tried lacrosse, so I tried lacrosse. I did a little swimming with Carmel Country Club, but I was not very good at it. We're members at Carmel, so I did a golf development program there but I didn't really play after third grade or so. I did a couple years of AAU basketball and I played tennis for fun and at Latin in Middle School. During Covid, I started golfing with my dad. He recognizes that professional connections are often made on the golf course, so he wanted to make sure I had enough skill to play with others in the business world. I didn't get serious about it though until the end of eighth grade and freshman year, when I joined the team at Latin.
 
10. What do you like best and least about golf?
My least favorite part of golf is that I prefer to be active. In golf, you hit one shot and then you wait, and then you walk, and then you hit again, wait, walk. It's so slow-paced and I get bored easily. The thing I like the most is the dynamic with both your teammates and the other competitors. You spend a lot of time with the girls from other schools and you build relationship outside of your team. You're always meeting new people and having them support you, telling you "great shot" or encouraging you when you're not having the best day – that doesn't happen in my other sports.
 
11. What do you like best and least about basketball?  
In basketball, my least favorite part is the time commitment. I think it's the longest season and even over the holiday breaks, we have practices and tournaments, so I don't love that part. My favorite thing about basketball is how close our team is. We would all do anything for each other. I think everyone is really open-minded and we help each other; the bench is never silent. We're all cheering and super supportive; there's no bad energy. We work hard and hold each other accountable, but we also build each other up.
 
12. What do you like best and least about soccer?
My least favorite part about soccer is the trek to south campus for practice. My favorite part is our games, especially at home. We play at 7:00, so we have time after school to relax, eat, and get homework done, then we do a bit of scouting before warming up in the gym. I like the routine of game day. When we get to walk down the hill and our playlist is going while we're warming up, you can't help but get sucked into the atmosphere. Playing under the lights in Patten is amazing. We have our traditions of writing on our wristbands and eating a bit of grass, then the environment during the game is so energetic. It's a great mix of tradition and excitement and fun.
 
13. You've had a lot of coaches throughout your athletic journey. Have you found any particular style works best for you?
I get coached so differently by my current Latin coaches. They're all supportive in their own way, but they're very different. Tough love works well for me, actually. When a coach gets angry, you know it's because they care and want you to do better. But I can work well with any of their coaching styles.
 
14. Did you ever have aspirations to play in college? What kind of schools are you considering?
I never really wanted to play in college. Back when I did ECNL soccer I thought I might pursue it, but I never had my mind set that I wanted to go to college for a sport. I want to get a degree and use that to get a good job. I haven't really been looking for specific attributes other than I don't really want to stay in North Carolina. I've been attracted to different types of schools, but the one thing they all have in common is access to internships and job opportunities after college. I would like to follow my dad's path into investment banking. Like I said before, though, I don't know what I would do with myself without sports after school, so I will definitely be doing club sports in college.
 
15. Alright, let's finish with some fun questions. Do you have any pets?  
I do not. I love dogs. I love animals in general, but I would like to have a dog someday.
 
16. When you were in kindergarten, what did you want to be as a grown up?
I think my dream job was to be a veterinarian. Or a pediatrician. I love animals and always want to help people. I work with kids in the Latin summer camps and I volunteer in a preschool for kids.
 
17. Do you cook? If so, what is your specialty?
Um, actually, my fatal flaw is that I'm awful at cooking. I like to bake chocolate chip cookies with the pre-made dough. I cannot cook.
 
18. If you had the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would go to either Tokyo or India. Obviously, I'm Indian, but I've never been to India. I want to experience the culture and environment there. And Tokyo is really interesting to me, so I'd love to explore the city and try all the different foods there.
 
19. Who inspires you or serves as a role model?
My dad. Hearing his stories of how he immigrated from India and how little he had growing up – he had to create his own opportunities. Seeing all that he's done for me and my brothers, and the life I get to live now because of how hard he worked to achieve it is very inspiring. I want to put in the effort to give my kids the same opportunities. And I want to make him proud.
 
20.  Final question. What has been your favorite CLS sports memory so far?
My favorite CLS sports memory was winning the golf state championship in October. We had to compete in a playoff, which was super fun with high stakes, and I got to make the last putt of the tournament. Our team got to bring Latin its first-ever girls' golf state title, and the hole that won it was the last-ever competitive golf hole I will play. It was very exciting, and very memorable.