The 23-year-old is back in North Otago, albeit only for a few weeks, after four years at the University of Wyoming in the United States, where the former top Oamaru Swim Club swimmer earned an academic and sporting scholarship after her time at St Kevin’s College.
She was barely 18 when she started thinking about heading overseas, an idea that gained traction after a chat with New Zealand swimmer Hayley Williams, who swam at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
‘‘I just stared chatting to her and she told me that if I wanted to do that I should look at the States.
‘‘I started looking and set up a recruitment profile and that in itself was daunting because I didn’t really understand the recruitment process at all. It’s so different to what we have here,’’ Isobel said.
After she settled on Wyoming, Miss Ryan found herself ‘‘on a plane by myself and went to the other side of the earth’’ in 2015.
Not only did she complete a double degree in business management, specialising in human resources, and psychology, she also broke several time and pool records, as well as a handful of top-10 conference records.
She said her finest moment in the pool came in 2019 when she won 100m backstroke gold in the Mountain West conference of 13 universities.
‘‘It was a sweet victory ... to end on a high note.’’
Miss Ryan said it was a huge challenge to juggle her academic and swimming commitments, which included hours of study and at least 30 hours a week of swimming and gym time, not including swim meets.
After leaving with her degree, a swag of medals and a new perspective on life, she said it was all worth it.
‘‘It was a lot ... you’re pretty tired whilst doing it all, but it was an absolutely amazing opportunity to be able to do it.
‘‘I say to people, don’t sell yourself short of actually really trying to reach for your dreams, or heading outside your comfort zone.’’
Miss Ryan now hopes to head back to the US and complete a master’s degree, and also explore job opportunities while there and in Europe.
