Lily DeSpain and her Journey to NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee: From Navy to Army, China to Arkansas, Student to Doctor
Lily DeSpain‘s life journey has taken her all over the world.
From Arkansas to California to Beijing to Missouri and back, DeSpain has been around the pool as well as around the world.
Her experiences in the pool and in life led her to be nominated as one of 30 finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
“I was utterly speechless. It was so humbling and made me realize that someone’s experience in the sport of swimming has been impacted from so many people. This is a testament to how great my support system has been at every step of the way. This was something I could take back to my team and show them what we did together.”
Photo Courtesy: Lily DeSpain
After growing up in California then Beijing, it was then on to Haas Hall Academy in Arkansas, she graduated in three years so she could be at the Naval Academy with both of her older sisters, who were also swimmers.
“I grew up in Beijing, China. My mother (retired Air Force) was a translator and worked for human rights issues and my father is a former FBI agent, working for the Department of Justice,” DeSpain said. “I was there until I was 10 then came back to Arkansas.”
She spent three semesters at the Naval Academy and swam for Navy before transferring to Missouri State to go into pre-med, while continuing her swimming career and becoming a conference champion.
“I wanted to serve, and I graduated a year early so all three of us were at the same place for a year together. I signed there and did three semesters. But I realized I wanted to be a doctor. The Naval Academy has that program, but the program is so competitive that if you don’t make it, you end up with a different job and I wanted to be a physician,” she said. “I put myself in the transfer portal and Missouri State is one of the first schools to reach out to me. It was only two hours away from my parents, who had just adopted a girl while I was in school. I wanted to be a part of her life as well, so I knew it was the place for me.”
Photo Courtesy: Lily DeSpain
Along the way, she volunteered with dementia and Alzheimer’s clinics as well as Women’s Medical Respite, the children’s library and researched about vision, hearing and speech and language treatment.
Now, she is going through medical school at the University of Arkansas where she will have three more years of school before becoming a physician in the U.S. Army. She is currently a second lieutenant as part of her Health Professions Scholarship from the U.S Army.
“I am on a scholarship from the Army. Once I am done with medical school and residency, I will serve for four years as a physician,” she said. “I come from a long line of people who served in the miliary. My mother is an Air Force veteran, and my grandfather is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. There is nothing that would give me more satisfaction than to serve my country in a specific format. The Army desperately needs physicians. I just want to help in any way that I can.
“Swimming has given me opportunities, and the way I have grown up, has allowed me to experience a lot of things that people don’t get to experience in their lives, and for that I am very lucky.”
Photo Courtesy: Lily DeSpain