Lindsey Dell’Isola. A small town girl born in Massachusetts but raised in Connecticut. Lindsey is a sophomore at Sacred Heart University and a student-athlete for the swimming team. Lindsey is a very upbeat and an intelligent person, she had played doctor and told me what I had whenever I was sick… which i’m grateful for. She’s an overall great person who is very passionate about her studies and team, and a great friend to have around. I had a great time talking to her about school, swimming, and much more. I hope you all enjoy reading and getting to know Lindsey!

1. What's your major?
   I am currently a biology major on a pre-med track but I am thinking about switching to political science.
2. What are your biggest accomplishments in swimming?
   I have been swimming competitively since I was 5 years old and I have had a lot of successes and also a lot of failures. When I was a junior in high school I reached my highest point in my career where I broke the team record for the 1650 freestyle and in that moment ( although I was out of breath from just swimming a 66 lap race) I was the happiest I had ever been at a swim meet. I went 18:00.67 which to this day, no one on Zeus Swim Team (my team prior to Sacred Heart) has been able to beat.
   Another big accomplishment was when I was a senior at the LL State Championships finals on my high school team. I was swimming the 500 freestyle (20 laps) and I soared past everyone else in the race and won by a lot in my heat. Although I did not swim my best time, it was the fastest time I had gone in months. The beginning of my senior year was an extremely stressful time for me and it took a huge toll on my swimming career. I was not performing well and everyone thought that they were better than me and had no problem sharing their thoughts with me. People thought that I had peaked as a swimmer and that I would never be good again or that I simply was not trying. This race at state finals was a way for me to redeem myself and to prove everybody wrong.
3. What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
   My biggest challenge is overcoming myself. I suffer from mental illness which is not a secret and being a swimmer does not help. In the sport of swimming, you are constantly fighting yourself and pushing yourself to beat a time or to reach a goal. When performing poorly or if I do well and do not make a goal, I am extremely hard on myself. I am afraid of failure and am constantly trying to prove myself. Also, we have really early practices and sometimes as a pre-med major, I am studying a lot so it is hard to get sleep sometimes. This has been a struggle but I am trying to overcome it by staying positive and working harder to achieve my goals.
4. Assuming all student-athletes have one, do you have a diet plan?
   I struggle sometimes with maintaining a healthy diet but I am working on trying to lose weight and trying to eat healthy. I do not really have a diet plan but I have met with a sports nutritionist to help.
5. Who has been your biggest supporter?
   My mom has been my biggest supporter. Ever since I was little, she has taken me to practices (sometimes at very early hours) and to basically every meet. She also has made a career for herself out of my brother and I swimming. She is a USA swimming official and volunteers her time at meets so that they can run. She also officiates for high school swim meets which she gets paid for. She now tries to come to all of my meets and even though she is very hard on me I know she just wants me to do well.
6. What keeps you inspired to do better?
   Like I said before, I am afraid of failure so that fear helps me to work hard and keep going.
7. What are your hobbies?
   Swimming and school keep me really busy so I do not really have any hobbies, but in my free time I like to read and watch tv. I also am fairly good at recreational archery, but since I have been in college I haven’t really participated in that a lot. I like to hang out with my friends when I have time to and I cherish those times. My favorite season is fall, my favorite color is black and when it comes to food I do not discriminate, I have no favorite food.
8. What has been your favorite memory of college so far?
   I do not have a favorite memory, but my favorite part of college is hanging out with all of the friends I have made. My teammates have become my friends and they keep me going. I love my team and I love my friends.
9. If you could go back and change something, what would you change?
   I used to think that I was defined by who I was friends with or how I performed in swimming and then I had a falling out with those friends I was so close to. I would change the moment that I thought they defined me because it would save me a lot of heartache.
10. What do you want to do after college?
    I want to serve my country in any way I can. I used to want to be a trauma surgeon in the military, but now I am thinking of either being in the military or possibly pursuing a career in the FBI. (You go, girl!)
11. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
    I would go to Ireland because it is where my family is from and I want to both explore the world and see where I came from. I am thinking about studying abroad there in the future. I am also a history nerd so I want to go to Europe and see all of the historical sites.
12. If you could tell anyone that wants to do sports in college, what would you tell them? For anyone thinking about doing sports in college I would encourage them to do it but with caution. Everyone says that college is the most fun you will ever have in your life, but if you do a sport, it is a lot of responsibility. I am a division 1 athlete and there is a lot that I have to commit to and sacrifice to be a part of the team. While it is a lot of hard work, it is very rewarding. Your teammates become your closest friends and they will always be there for you. You are in this together and they help you through the hard times. So proceed with caution but think about the benefits of being a part of a team in college.

It’s so amazing to see people like Lindsey thrive and go after what they want. Truly an inspiration. Can't wait to see you achieve all of your goals! Thank you so much for sitting down and talking to me, Lindsey. For everyone reading, I hope you have a great day and stay tuned for my next article!