Sarah Foglia has never shied away from the path less traveled. Whether it’s dedicated commitment to competitive swimming or her ambitious career plans, she has always been willing to put in whatever it takes to get what she wants. Now it’s all beginning to pay off, with Sarah recently announcing her commitment to swim and study at Washington College.
Sarah began swimming at just 4 years old, competing at her local pool during the summer. Ironically, one of her summer coaches, Coach Buzek, would eventually become her high school instructor. By the time she was 9, she already began swimming year round for the Marlins of Raleigh swim club and later the YMCA of the Triangle Area. It wasn’t too long before she started looking at the next step: college. “Eighth grade was probably when I was like, ‘I definitely want to swim in college,’” she shared. Even five years away from high school graduation and college enrollment, she knew she could achieve her goal.
Swimming has had a profound impact on Sarah’s life. She credits the sport for bringing her together with some of her closest friends as well as helping her develop important skills both in and out of the water. “It’s taught me how to manage my time and a lot of mental strength stuff because especially as a distance swimmer, you’ve got to make sure you don’t freak out before you get to the hardest part,” said Sarah. Her mental fortitude is a rarity among the intense world of competitive swimming; she–in true Sarah fashion–prefers to compete in what are considered the toughest races. Her signature events, the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle, are much longer than the typical 100 to 200-yard races and are often avoided due to their grueling nature. They’re the perfect challenge for Sarah, who can use them to push her already elevated limits to new heights. But even with her incredible skill, Sarah knew she had to balance swimming with her other goals.
“By the time I was a Junior, I wanted to go Division I [the highest tier of college athletics] [though] I didn’t know much about it,” she said. “Then, once I got through my junior year, I was like, ‘that’s not really for me’. That’s too much of a commitment and I want to do something in the medical field.” More specifically, Sarah plans to become an expedition medic, which is a doctor that goes on research trips and similar groups when visiting dangerous parts of the world. It’s a formidable career path, especially when combined with the stress of swimming at the collegiate level. Fortunately, Sarah found the perfect place to achieve both goals at Division III school, Washington College. “I love the swim team there, and the academics seem to fit perfectly,” she said. Thanks to a program at Washington, she’s even considering putting work into becoming a doctor through Doctors Without Borders, traveling the world and helping people across different countries.
As she prepares to enter this new phase in her life, Sarah offered one last piece of advice for any aspiring college athlete: “I had the mentality where it was like ‘it has to be Division I,’ but it really doesn’t. If you want to do something that’s not a sport for the rest of your life, you don’t need to go Division I. You can still get really good if you’re determined to do that.”
Sarah’s journey has been an inspiration not just to her teammates, but her coaches as well. “Watching her grow up has been one of the most incredible things[…]to watch her reach the next level and watching her progress is one of the most rewarding things for me as a coach. To be able to pass on my passion to [her] and to watch [her] excel and move on to the next level, it’s more than you could ever ask for,” said Coach Buzek.
Sarah herself is a testament to the power of hard work, but she’s far from finished. Her future is bright, and Washington College is lucky to have her. We can’t wait to see what’s next for her, because whether it’s in the pool or across the world, it’s sure to be incredible!
