Meet your TRC Officers!

Coach: John Myrick
     Since learning how to climb in the Sandia Mountains back in 1980 Coach Myrick has seen all kinds of changes in the sport of climbing. Over the course of Coach Myrick’s climbing career he has participated in all facets of the sport, From Mountaineering, Traditional Climbing, Sport Climbing, Bouldering and Competition Climbing. 

     John has been coaching at a high level for over 15 years and is helping shape our sport and paving the way for the future.  Coach Myrick works with USA Climbing and Competition Climbing on many different levels.  Coach has served on many committees in USA Climbing such as Chairing the National Coaches Committee where he worked to revamp the Coaching Certification Program in order to help bring coaching in climbing to the next level. 

     In 2008 Coach founded the Collegiate Climbing Series (CCS).  It was a long time dream of Coach Myrick to see climbing become a college sport.  That dream has come true. Now he takes pride in having the opportunity to Coach our climbing team here at the University of Texas at Austin. We are lucky to have such a dedicated and inspirational climbing coach for our team here at UT.  In short order since the team’s inception we have had great success with four Regional Championships and 3 back to back National Championships.  We look forward to many more years of excellence under the leadership of Coach Myrick.

President: Daniel Nguyen

Daniel, el presidente! Daniel is a junior and hopes to graduate with a B.S. in psychology, and he eventually wants to head into the medical field. He has been on the team for 2 years, but has been climbing for 2.5 years— ever since freshman year. Daniel started climbing when Connor, our VP, dragged him into it. He stuck with it through school, joined the recreational club, and proceeded to make his way to the team. Daniel’s favorite part of the team is the family vibe, and how he can do goat yoga, thrift shopping, DIY spa day, study, and climb with a buddy or a whole group of them!


When asked to describe himself in three words, he said “laughs too much”. His number one hobby is, well… climbing. As for his favorite piece of gear, he says climbing shoes! If Daniel could be Chris Sharma for a day, he would try and climb without screaming; we think that’s a very ambitious goal. If he could be either an apple or an orange, he would be an apple, because orange trees are the most cultivated fruit tree in the world, and that’s not unique. Daniel wouldn’t be Daniel if he weren’t unique!

Vice President: Connor Chewning


​​Meet Connor! An environmental engineer major at UT, Connor hopes to work with small scale water and sanitation infrastructure within developing countries once graduated. It’s his 2nd year on the team, but he’s been climbing for 6 years— ever since his dad convinced him that climbing was much cooler than just rappelling. His favorite aspect of the team is the community and commitment, and he wanted to be an officer in order to give back to the community that has done so much for him over the years.

When asked to describe himself in 4 words, Connor chose “Granola” and “Great Interpretive Dancer”. His main hobby is (wait for it): CLIMBING, but specifically, mountain and alpine. With climbs like Rainier, Kilimanjaro, Baker, St. Helens, and two attempts on Hood under his belt, we’d say he’s a bit obsessed. If he had been a professional wrestler instead, he say’s his entrance song would be “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. Rock on, Connor.

Recreational Club Coordinator: Jared Horn


Jared is our new, super stoked recreational club coordinator! He’s a senior studying economics with a minor in german, and one of his goals upon graduation is to travel and teach economics in third world countries. It’s Jared’s first year on the team, but he’s been climbing for about 1.5 years. His favorite aspect of the team is the tight-knit community, and his time on the club showed him how fun the climbing community really is. His goal is to give a solid community for people coming into the recreational club.


When asked to describe himself, Jared said “good at discovering underground music artists”. His hobby (besides climbing) is carpentry or any work with his hands. Jared's favorite piece of gear is a GriGri, and an ultimate climbing destination of Jared’s is undoubtedly Flatanger, Norway. Sounds like we’ll have to join you Jared!

Treasurer: Nathan Wu

Our treasurer for Texas Rock Climbing is Nathan Wu. Nathan is a second year Health and Society major, and he hopes to become a physician and public health specialist upon graduation. Nathan’s been climbing with the team for about 1.5 years, but he fell in love with it 4 years ago. For Nathan, the invention of climbing is more important than the internet and heated toilet seats. His passion for climbing and admiration for his hardworking teammates around him is what pushed him to become an officer.


Nathan’s main hobby is studying disasters and urban design, and this fits perfectly with his career aspirations. When asked if he would rather be an apple or an orange, he chose orange. His reasoning? Oranges are thick-skinned, humble, and well-rounded fruits. On top of this, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and with Nathan’s aspiration for med school, apples could devalue eventual job prospects.

Secretary: Emily Tsai



​Meet our secretary, Emily! Emily is a second year physics major who hopes to eventually work as a particle physics researcher at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research—where the worlds biggest particle accelerator is!). She’s a new member to the team (half a year), but has been climbing for a year. Her favorite aspect of the team is that there are 80 people to say hi to you on campus throughout the day. Her reasoning behind running for an officer position was to be in a better position to help the team and others overcome physical or mental blocks in climbing.


A common phrase that describes Emily is “not with that attitude!” She’s definitely a positive force on the team! If she were Chris Sharma for a day, she said she would make sure she was in Spain so she could climb all the 5.15b+ sport routes she could muster. Oh, and she said she would definitely take the red pill if given the choice by Morpheus.
 

Event Coordinator: Juan Escudero

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​Juan is our event coordinator. He is a fourth-year Microbiology major and plans to become a doctor. He has been on the team for two years and has been climbing for three. His favorite aspect of the team is the amazing sense of community and abundance of people who support and push each other to be better at climbing and in life. His goals for his time in office are to increase team camaraderie and help everyone improve their climbing abilities.

When feeling stuck, Juan likes to remind himself and others to remember “yet”. Never say you feel you can't do this, but you can't do it “yet” because anything you set your mind to can be done. Juan finds the red vs blue pill debate interesting because most humans live our lives on the red pill, but ultimately seek the life provided by the blue.

Public Relations: Rob Bailey


​Our public relations officer is Rob! Rob is a third year environmental science major at UT, and he hopes to eventually work in the field of marine biology. Rob has been climbing for 3 years, and he’s been on the team for 3 years. Rob’s favorite aspect of the team is the close family vibe of it, and how supportive it is. Everyone on the team is in it for hard sends and deep personal connections.


When asked to describe himself in three words, Rob said “stoked on life”. If Rob had been a professional wrestler instead, his entrance song would be “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. One of Rob’s ultimate climbing destination is Yosemite or the Grand Tetons. If he were offered a red or blue pill, Rob would take the red pill, because then he’d be on the same team as Neo.