Bethany Ireland '17 Recruiting Profile

Swimming in college has been a goal of mine since the age of eight, and I still see myself continuing my swimming career after high school. Up until the summer before my freshman year (2013), swimming had been my life, and it still is, I've just had a few bumps in the road. That summer, I found out I had Synovial Sarcoma, a rare type of soft tissue cancer that affects less than three in one million people per year. After three foot surgeries to remove the malignancy, and three months of radiation treatment, I'm back to loving swimming more than ever. These experiences have shaped me into being resilient, hopeful, and made me see things as something I WILL accomplish rather than something I want to achieve. Academics have always been a major priority in my life as well, and I hope to find a college that will be a great match for me, with both swimming and academics!