Katelin Isakoff: From NCAA Champion to Mental Health Advocate and Future Physician

The former Tufts swimmer, now a Stanford medical student, is using her athletic journey to lead conversations on mental health and holistic care.

Relays are won together. That is what Katelin Isakoff believed when she helped Tufts clinch its first NCAA relay title in women’s swimming. It is important for her to note that the “together” part included more than the three teammates who swam with her in the event. “That moment was absolutely everything to me,” Isakoff said of the 2022 Division III championship win in the 800-yard freestyle relay. “Even though we were the four standing up there, the people standing on the side of the pool were the ones that practiced with us, the ones that pushed us, and it was as much our win as it was theirs.” That sense of shared success defined her four years at Tufts and continues to fuel her purpose as a medical student at Stanford. But behind the celebratory cheers was a deeper mission taking shape, one rooted in healing, listening and advocacy.

Like many student-athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Isakoff faced a mental and emotional landscape that changed on a dime. Seasons were canceled. Training became isolated. Yet within the silence of locked-down locker rooms, something urgent emerged. “I think we all kind of felt that sense of loneliness and that struggle between feeling a purpose and feeling motivated versus wondering what we were doing this all for,” she said. “That loss of identity really impacted my teammates and the people around me.”

Rather than bury those feelings, Isakoff made them a call to action. In 2021, she co-founded the Tufts chapter of The Hidden Opponent, a national nonprofit dedicated to destigmatizing student-athlete mental health issues. She built a team of advocates, launching awareness campaigns and helping lead Tufts’ first student-athlete mental health week. “Our goal was just to start the conversation,” she said. Her impact was immediate and lasting. The chapter continues to operate and evolve, adding monthly newsletters to its efforts and featuring the stories of student-athletes across campus. “I did not really know much about it until after she graduated,” said Peter LaBarge, a men’s swimmer at Tufts. “It took flight even when Katelin was gone. It has been awesome to see it continue to develop.”

Alongside her advocacy, Isakoff became one of Tufts’ most decorated student-athletes, excelling in the classroom, dominating in the pool and giving back through research and service. She graduated summa cum laude from Tufts, double majoring in biology and community health. A two-time NCAA champion, adding a 400 freestyle relay win at the 2023 Division III championship, and eight-time All-American, Isakoff elevated the program to new heights. She led Tufts to its first two New England Small College Athletic Conference team championships in women’s swimming and diving while serving as captain as a senior. Her leadership extended beyond the pool, too, as she served as a volunteer campus EMT, conducted clinical and community-based research and mentored students through Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as Tufts’ preorientation program.

“What made Katelin stand out was her work ethic in everything she does. As an athlete, she was always challenging herself to be better and to improve, whether it was stroke techniques or endurance. When we would lift together, she would always go until failure,” teammate Chesnie Cheung said. “As a student, this same work ethic applied. I was in a couple of classes with Katelin, and she not only learned material for herself but also helped others in the class that were struggling.”

Her academic, athletic and leadership accomplishments earned her a 2025 Walter Byers Scholarship, one of the NCAA’s most prestigious academic awards, given annually to one female and one male student-athlete across all divisions. “What most impresses me about Katelin is how she manages to excel at so many different activities, while avoiding the stress and burnout that seems to accompany such a busy schedule for many other students,” Mitch McVey, professor of biology at Tufts, wrote of Isakoff in a recommendation letter for the scholarship. “She was a member of the Tufts student-run emergency medical service, served as its director of diversity, equity and inclusion, volunteered as a Big Sister and at COVID vaccination clinics, competed on the varsity swim team, worked in our lab 10-15 hours each week, investigated vaccine hesitancy in a Brazilian immigrant population in Boston, and maintained a near-perfect GPA with two majors. “Just before she graduated, I asked her how she manages to find time for all these activities. Her reply? She always strives for balance in her life. When she finds that her life is unbalanced, she readjusts her activities, prioritizing those that are most meaningful to her and that will have the greatest impact on her community.”

At Stanford, Isakoff is putting that mindset into practice through the Leadership in Health Disparities Program, an initiative focused on developing physician leaders dedicated to health equity. For her, it is a natural continuation of the purpose she found at Tufts, where advocacy, service and athletics shaped her identity. “I think being involved in the college athlete mental health space showed me that people really are not one-dimensional,” she said. “It is really taught me the importance of taking a holistic approach to patient care, trying to listen to people and not just focus on the chief reason they are here but really pay attention to all of the problems or all the things that they might be experiencing so that the care that I provide or the care that the team provides is most effective for them as an individual.”

Those who swam alongside her have zero doubt in her ability to bring an empathetic approach to everyone. Cheung saw this each season when the team had to reduce its competing roster for conference meets. “She always puts her teammates first and makes sure others are feeling OK,” Cheung said. “Every year, (that process) is incredibly stressful for the entire team. Katelin would go out of her way to make sure all her teammates felt OK before their respective championship meets. She made sure all her teammates knew their own impact and importance on this team.”

LaBarge, who also worked with Isakoff on Tufts’ student EMT team, saw her passion for care show up long before medical school. “She was so passionate about caring for people, especially those in need,” he said. “That is really where I saw her empathy and compassion on display.”

John Morris, Tufts’ director of athletics, called Isakoff one of the most impressive student-athletes he has encountered in more than 25 years in college athletics. “Katelin continues to lead and focus on supporting others,” he wrote in a recommendation letter for the Walter Byers Scholarship. “She made such a positive impact on Tufts, and she will do the same at Stanford and wherever she chooses to go from there.”

Isakoff says the leadership lessons and life perspective she gained through swimming, especially on relays, will continue to guide her. “My greatest successes as an athlete were on relays,” she said. “I think the greatest successes in medicine will come from teamwork.”