Tufts national champion swimmer Katelin Isakoff, A23, has been named as one of two recipients nationwide of the 2025 Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship, one of the NCAA’s highest academic awards.

Established in 1988, the Walter Byers Scholarship program annually awards $24,000 scholarships to one male and one female student-athlete. The scholarship, which may be renewed for a second year, honors those who combine excellence in academics and athletics and show potential as future leaders.

Isakoff was a two-time NCAA champion with Jumbos’ 400 freestyle relay in 2023 and the 800 freestyle relay in 2022. She is now pursuing a medical degree at Stanford University.

She is the second Jumbo to earn this prestigious scholarship, joining track national champion Mitchell Black, who received it in 2016. Tufts is the only Division III school in the country to have two recipients of the Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship, and it remains the only school in NESCAC with individuals who have earned the scholarship.

In the pool, Isakoff was an eight-time All-American overall and seven-time conference champion during her time at Tufts. She helped lead the Jumbos to their first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference championship in 2022, and then a repeat of the conference title in 2023. The sixth-place NCAA finish by the 2023 team she was on matched the best-ever at Tufts.

“Katelin came to Tufts and our program and had tremendous growth over her four years,” said Adam Hoyt, head coach of swimming and diving at Tufts. “We saw this growth in her athletic, leadership, and academic development. Katelin pushed herself daily to be the best she could be. She continues to support our program and has been a great role model for our team, as well as an example of what’s possible to achieve while a student-athlete at Tufts.”

‘Enormous Intellectual Capacity and Scientific Ability’

She graduated summa cum laude from Tufts, doing so in seven semesters, and was named a First Team Academic All-American in 2023. She was a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in May 2024. After graduating in December 2023, she took a gap year before starting medical school, working full-time in the spring as a clinical research assistant at the Center for Health Solutions at Tufts Medical Center. She has also worked as a health care research associate for a research services firm.

While an undergraduate, Isakoff worked in the lab of Mitch McVey, professor of biology. She was a “highly motivated student with enormous intellectual capacity and scientific ability,” said McVey. “At the same time, I saw how she doesn’t let her ambition get in the way of her humanity. She was always willing to help her labmates when they were struggling with a procedure or just trying to get their lab tasks finished before class. I am confident that her sense of humanity, combined with her impressive intellect, will make her an extraordinary physician.”

A leader in and out of the pool, Isakoff founded and served as president of Tufts’ chapter of The Hidden Opponent, a national nonprofit focused on destigmatizing student-athlete mental health. She also served as a volunteer EMT and mentored students through Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as in Tufts’ pre-orientation program.

Isakoff noted in her Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship application essay how her personal and professional experiences solidified her desire to pursue a career in medicine, with goals of advancing health equity, exploring the field of orthopedics, and advocating for female athletes. As part of Stanford’s Leadership in Health Disparities Program, she is already laying the foundation for a career centered on inclusive patient care and systemic change.

“As a physician, I hope to combine my passion for athletics with my understanding of the influence of mental health on physical health, along with the impact of illness on long term well-being,” Isakoff said in her essay. “I am prepared to excel within the rigor of medical education because of my success balancing the responsibilities of a student-athlete. In the face of challenges that a career in medicine will bring, I will maintain the same distinctive resiliency and dedication that led to my athletic and academic achievements.”

Isakoff was also recently chosen for the Albert Schweitzer Service and Leadership Fellowship, which is a selective, year-long service and leadership development program that supports graduate students interested in addressing unmet health needs in underserved communities. She is also launching a project to promote water safety education with a goal of reducing disparities in drowning rates for children living below the federal poverty line.