Case Study: From social swimmer to international student-athlete
Laid-back South Australian swimmer, Megan Dawes, has come leaps and bounds since she started to participate in swimming competitively just over a year ago.
Although she has been swimming since she was five years old, it was only quite recently that Megan decided to take her talent to the next level and compete in higher competitions.
From social swimming to state and national competitions, Megan’s swimming has grown at a rapid pace, and she now finds herself chasing a massive opportunity to attend college in the U.S. as a student-athlete. Megan was surprised to be given this chance and her relaxed attitude suggests she never expected to be following this kind of pathway.
“I got the letter in the mail from swimming SA and I thought, is this thing real? Why am I getting this? I swim socially…I was in disbelief because of the sheer numbers were at the trials, I didn’t think I’d get picked.
“There are people there that have been competitive and hard-core into it for years and years and years and then there was me sort of popping in to say hi,” Megan joked.
When we caught up with Megan she was just hours away from boarding a plane to begin her four-year adventure in the U.S. at Emmanuel College in Georgia, where her chats with her coach made for a comfortable introduction to the international student-athlete lifestyle.
Megan’s carefree spirit and sense of independence and adventure directed her to follow this journey, and now in her freshman year in college, there is no doubt that she is absorbing every experience and tackling this challenge head-on.
The young athlete understands the immensity of this experience and appreciates what it can do for her in the future.
“It means a lot to me. Going over there and studying will reflect well with future things, showing that I can do things on my own and I’m open to new experiences. I think it’s invaluable. It’s something that you can’t get if you just study here. I think if I was competing against someone for a job who had just studied here, they would look favourably upon me because I have that life experience with going overseas on my own,” the confident swimmer said.
NSR is eagerly anticipating Megan’s adventures and look forward to seeing what she can achieve with her cool demeanour and confidence in her ability on the world stage!