Abigail Isaly '22 Recruiting Profile

I have high hopes to eventually get accepted into a Division 1 university to push on to my dreams of pursuing something I love, swimming. Growing up within a single club team has sparked a fondness of teamwork and building up your training partners as they do the same for you. As an athlete, I believe that if everyone is on their "A-game" building one another up, the only outcome is success. I have a strong understanding that you could possibly be the “slowest” on the team and still make an impact on  the growth of the team and sport as a whole. 

As an individual, a personal trait of mine that tends to set me apart from other athletes is my determination and the process of how I go about achieving the goal in which I train for.  Picking myself back up from every failure and setback, learning from my mistakes, and then using it as motivation to make a comeback. Resilience is key in the sport of swimming. Swimming has not always come easy for me, yet it has taught me that over time mindset is an obstacle you must master on your own, both inside the pool and out. Eventually, this aspect of swimming has built and transformed my character. Swimming is not just something I am passionate about because of the competition, but because of the life lessons and transformation of character that I have endured throughout the past 11 years of my life. 

I strive to attend a school with a strong and ongoing emphasis on teamwork in the aspect of growth as an entirety. I also desire to achieve a degree in the field of Business . Taking the lead position of the debate and argumentation club/team at Santa Margarita Catholic High School has encouraged me to speak out, use my voice, and face my fear of public speaking. Overall, this assisted my dream of using my personal experiences with mental health to guide other athletes within the sport of swimming. I look towards building a stable and grounded future beyond my years in university. From personal experience, I understand the balance of academics and athletics as well as making time to seek one's social life. Prioritizing one over the other only creates more restlessness or procrastination to the student and the athlete. Creating a healthy balance within my life is something I take pride in.