Isla Ho '26 Recruiting Profile

Hi my name is Isla Ho, I'm a national swimmer from Victoria, Australia. I'm 17 and in year 11 at Ballarat Clarendon College and I am interested in the American College swimming program and studying overseas, I have swum my whole life, starting competitively at 9 in a small country town in Australia, I have always loved racing and training as it gave me long-lasting friendships and a sense of determination and strive to reach my goals. At the age of 13 I realised that I wanted to pursue swimming and see where it could take me, so I moved to boarding school 4 hours away from home in order to be able to train year long and work hard to as well as further my academics as my school is renowned for it's academics, placing 1st in the state of Victoria multiple times.  Since being at boarding school I've achieved my first National qualifying time in 2023 as well as 2024, being selected in Team Victoria to represent the state in School nationals and my first ever state medal in 2023 short course season for the 200 IM. I feel that over the course of these years I have gained invaluable experiences and have created bonds with my teammates that are long lasting, so I would say I can contribute to the team by being encouraging, motivating, seeking genuine relationships with teammates and helping everyone strive for there best results wether that be in the classroom or swimming pool. I have also recently come to America in June/July and taken part in the NSLC study program at Berkeley California, as well as visiting Stanford University. After this experience I have been very encouraged and strive to study and swim in American College.