Athlete Services

I remember the first time I arrived on Loyola’s campus, I felt at home immediately. Ahead of committing to the school, I was able to sit in on one of the classes where I felt so engaged and excited to learn the materials. The entire department worked with me, especially during the Rio Paralympic Games, to ensure that I kept up with classes and wasn't overwhelmed when I returned a month late into the semester. I will be forever grateful for their hard work and guidance. As a student-athlete with a disability that competed in a Division I program, I loved that I never felt different or lesser.

Swimming collegiately helped me tremendously in preparing me to compete for Team USA. One of the things I loved and cherished the most about college swimming was the team aspect. I believe the team-oriented approach that I learned in college swimming prepared me well for the Paralympic Games and other national team trips because competing for Team USA means coming together as one. I learned from Loyola that you are so much stronger when you come together to achieve a common goal, and I always take that lesson with me when competing for Team USA.

I’ve learned so much about life in being a student-athlete at Loyola. I always say that competing as a Division I swimmer while being enrolled as a full-time student, along with competing simultaneously on the national team, was the hardest, yet most rewarding thing that I have ever done. The work ethic I learned from those four years will carry me through in anything I do in my life. One of my life's greatest accomplishments will probably go down as graduating on time with my degree and achieving the successes I had at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. It was a hard journey, but I am immensely proud of myself and I know that I can pursue anything in life because of what I went through and achieved in those four years.