Junior Issara Schmidt has been a top performer as a diver for NYU women’s swimming and diving team. Last year, she was named one of the First Team Scholar All-America athletes by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America and was the NCAA Northeast Regional Champion in the 1m and 3m dives.
Schmidt also was named a First Team All-America athlete in the 1m dive and Second Team All-America athlete in the 3m dive at the NCAA National Championships, along with numerous other student-athlete distinctions.
In an interview with WSN, Schmidt — who is majoring in mathematics and economics and minoring in social and cultural analysis — spoke about her experience diving for NYU as she heads into her final year of college.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WSN: Have you faced any challenges as an NYU student-athlete, and if so, how did you navigate through them?
Schmidt: I’ve had to learn a lot of time management skills and how to communicate with my professors. I commit to two hours of practice every day, and during championship season, I’m usually gone every weekend or every other weekend. So I miss a week of class because of meets, and that is usually a big deal. When this happens, I need to sit and assess how I’m doing mentally, ‘Do I have time to do this extracurricular, or will it impact my academics?’
When I do feel overwhelmed with my diving commitments, I’ve been able to have an honest conversation with my coach and talk about withdrawing from a competition — I’m so lucky to have a coach who is so understanding because maintaining that balance between diving and academics is really important for me.
WSN: As an upperclassman on the swimming and diving team, how do you commit to becoming a role model for your younger teammates and creating a positive team environment?
Schmidt: As an upperclassman, you’ve got people on the team already looking up to you and asking you for advice. I’m prepared to take that leadership role, and I’m excited about it. Remembering how I was as a freshman, there are people asking a lot of the same questions that I was asking back then and kind of struggling with the same thing that I was going through. It’s nice to be a reassuring voice on the team.
WSN: What was your favorite memory as an NYU diver?
Schmidt: Last year, when we had our NYU invite, the whole team was there and got to compete. Everyone had a good day, it was a super fun environment and we were throwing high scores. It was a fun time and was some of our seniors’ last meet. It was really cool to have a collective energy where everyone can be there.
WSN: What are you looking forward to for your final year on the team?
Schmidt: I’ve been doing this long enough that I’ve already done all the hard skills I want to do. I’m just really excited to go up there and be confident about what I’m doing on the board. I have been doing these dives for over two years now, and I want to perfect my dives and be more consistent with them. Lastly, I want to be able to leave the sport and feel like I give it my all and be happy with my overall experience. I want to be able to walk away and say that diving was really fun for me.
Contact Anthony Lo at [email protected].
