Katie Drabot has emerged as a real contender on the international swimming scene over the past few years, taking bronze in the 200m butterfly at both the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2019 FINA World Championships.

This past season, Drabot finished her college eligibility at Stanford and is now facing the challenges of a pro career. Here’s a little bit about what drives her, and the lessons she’s learned over her swimming career.

What are some of the life lessons you learned from swimming?

Swimming has allowed me to challenge myself in many aspects of my life. Not just physically, but also mentally and in my character for who I am as an individual and who I want to become. Swimming teaches you a lot of life lessons that you can then apply to other areas of your life. I have particularly found that it has taught me to be driven, dedicated and passionate in the classroom, in the goals I have for the future, in my hobbies and volunteer work, as well as in the relationships I have developed throughout my lifetime. It’s taught me to persevere through challenges and to put my best foot forward in anything I set my mind to. It has taught me time management and how to prioritize things that are going to move me closer to my goals. I really cherish all of the people that this sport has brought me including teammates, coaches, staff, medical professionals and many more, both here in the US and across the world. This sport has allowed me to travel and see the world through a totally different lens and I am forever grateful for it.

What have been the most impactful moments from your swimming career?

The moments that have been the most impactful for my swimming career have been my failures. In these moments, I have learned to be resilient. These moments, while not the most enjoyable and often times extremely frustrating, have always reignited the fire inside of me and challenged me to never let moments like that happen again. It is true in swimming and in life in general that you’re not always going to come out on top, but with failure comes learning how to move on and try again. I have found that I have a total shift in mindset and become a stronger swimmer both mentally and physically.

What drives you in your swimming?

In the pool, I aspire to keep pushing and striving to be the best that I can possibly be. I am one of those swimmers who is never satisfied with my results and am always left wanting more which really motivates me every day during practice to push myself and put in the work that will take me from where I am to where I want to be. Something that drives me is knowing that I positively impacted/ made a difference in someone’s life. I want to become more involved with the swimming community so that my journey can hopefully inspire future generations of this sport.

How important is doing volunteer work for you?

As I mentioned before, I am extremely passionate about making a difference in others’ lives. I really enjoy the satisfaction and feeling that I get out of doing volunteer work. I’m not in it for the money. I love it because I walk away knowing that I positively impacted someone’s life, whether that means inspiring them through what I have done, giving back to those who have supported me, helping people who are not as fortunate or even simply putting a smile on someone’s face. Although swimming is very time-demanding, I don’t always have the time do enjoy these activities. Now that I am about to graduate, my goal is to dedicate more of my time to others and create more volunteering opportunities for myself.

What did you study at Stanford, and what are your plans after swimming?

During my time at Stanford, I studied Human Biology with a concentration in Human Performance and Physiology. Once I am done swimming, I want to become a Physician Assistant (PA). I have always wanted to work in healthcare and am also a hands-on learner, and this route allows me to both work hands-on with patients and make a difference in their lives. I’m a firm believer in paying back the favor and want to give back to my community and those who have helped me over the years. I will also be able to incorporate my skills from swimming into this career since I will continue to get to problem solve and be challenged and work on a team. As I’ve learned in swimming, the human body is so amazing and intricate, yet also so confusing and constantly evolving, and that’s something that has always fascinated me.

While my mind is set on becoming a Physician’s Assistant after swimming, I could really see myself going down many career paths, all with the main focus on helping others.

What are some of your other passions?

Health and well-being is another thing that matters to me. I love cooking and creating healthy recipes. It also allows me to express my creative side when I get to experiment with flavors, play around with presentation or upload a picture of my meal to social media. During quarantine, I have been especially passionate about food, and have found a lot of enjoyment in the kitchen. I believe that health and nutrition play a crucial role in performance, and I’m always looking for ways to live a healthier life. As for well-being, I don’t think mental health is talked about enough in athletics or in life in general. It’s something that society sees as a weakness and I want to get more involved in advocating that “it’s okay not to be okay” and just open the conversation up about mental health awareness. There are a lot of pros to swimming, but I have also found myself in a lot dark places. I want to use my platform now and after swimming to fight the stigma around mental health.

What financial challenges will you face as a pro athlete?

Because I just finished my NCAA eligibility and pools have been closed ever since, my professional career technically hasn’t even started. With everything being at a standstill, my biggest challenge so far has been navigating how to gain sponsorships not knowing what they will be able to offer me because of the financial hit our economy is taking. Moving forward, my plan is to stay out in California and train at Stanford under Greg Meehan and Tracy Slusser. Moving past my collegiate career poses a lot of challenges, the biggest being able to afford the cost of living out in the Bay Area. I am now in a position where I need to learn how to balance training out in California while being able to afford it as well. That does not include the fees that I will need to pay for food, transportation, flights and other swimming needs that may pop up. I know that finances will be a challenge as I move forward with my professional career but I am very excited about what the future has to hold as I get to explore a whole new side to swimming that I’ve never been able to experience.

To learn how the USA Swimming Foundation is helping build champions like Katie, please visit usaswimmingfoundation.org.