"I'm just going to keep working at it – keep trusting the process that my coaches laid down for me. I trust them every step of the way. The only thing that's not an option is giving up. If I never get back to where I was it won't be from a lack of training and effort."

Isaac Stump
Sport: Swimming and Diving
Major: Pre-Med
Hometown: Oro Valley Ariz.
 
Last April, Isaac Stump was wrapping up his sophomore year at the University of Arizona. He was coming off a strong showing at the Pac-12 Championships and was preparing for his Pre-Law finals. He was wrapping up the second year at his hometown university, excelling both as a student and an athlete.
 
A week later his world was turned upside down.
 
Stump's father, Craig Stump, died following complications from chemotherapy to fight lymphoma that had re-emerged following a nearly decade-long remission.
 
"It was all so sudden," said Stump. "We weren't expecting anything like this to happen. Within five days of me saying the last words to my dad, he had passed away. It was incredibly quick."
 
What transpired next were the most important months of his young life. A character-defining period of time that would test the resolve of even the strongest men and women.
 
In the coming weeks and months, Stump turned to his family and to his faith, but he also turned to his team – his family away from home – to conquer the grief and the endure the most difficult period of his life.
 
"I couldn't have done it without my team and coaches," said Stump. "If I was on any other team I doubt I would still be swimming right now. The connection and the brotherhood I have with my teammates and with my coaches, they are what kept me swimming. I still love it to death, but at that time, if I was with any other group of people, it wouldn't have happened.
 
"They're top notch. They're the best of the best. And I really credit them with helping me to be able to push through that time."
 
In the year since his father's passing, Isaac Stump has undergone change that not many 20-year olds could comprehend. Last summer, Stump married his wife Morgan in Alaska, where a large group of his family lives. He returned to school in the fall, and, after two years of Pre-Law, changed his major to Pre-Med, and had the two best academic semesters of his career.
 
"Life after my dad's passing was crazy," said Stump. "We had to move out of my childhood home of 14 years – pack it up, find a new place to live. I was engaged at the time and we had a wedding to plan in seven weeks while preparing a funeral and memorial services. I couldn't continue swimming at the time, I needed to take a couple of months and sort my new life out and do the best I could with what I had. In a sport like swimming, if you take a couple of months off, you're going to pay for it."

Stump's transition back into the pool has been anything but easy. But never once has the support from the Arizona coaching staff and his teammates wavered.
 
"I came back to school and I was the slowest I had been since I was about 14, it was brutal," said Stump. "But my teammates were excellent and my coaches were very understanding and they helped me through that process a lot. Taking time off in any sport is detrimental, but swimming, as I know, is a completely different animal. If you don't touch the water for a couple of weeks, you're going to spend months trying to regain that. I took three months off, so I wasn't starting to feel myself again until seven or eight months into the season. This was by far my most challenging year athletically."
 
A year after tragedy shook his entire world, Stump is thriving out of the pool and continuing to progress inside of it. And whether he ever regains his dominance in the water is to be seen, but his determination and dedication will forever outshine the results.
 
"I'm just going to keep working at it – keep trusting the process that my coaches laid down for me," said Stump. "I trust them every step of the way. The only thing that's not an option is giving up. If I never get back to where I was it won't be from a lack of training and effort."
 
And while the physical changes were numerous, perhaps the thing that changed the most for Stump was a new perspective and outlook on life.
 
"I see my path clearer now," said Stump. "I know the steps that will take me to where I want to be. If I want to get there, I have one chance to get it right. And that's what motivates my focus right now, knowing that I have one shot, so I don't take my time for granted, in swimming or in school."
 
Stump's father, Dr. Craig Stump was the chief of the UA Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine. He received his master's degree and PhD from the University of Arizona. Now, his son is following in his footsteps – two semesters into Pre-Med at the University he holds two degrees from and spent his life serving.
 
But no matter how busy Dr. Stump was as the head of his department at work, it never took time away from his family – whether that was watching movies together, going on bike rides or going on trail runs, he left his family with a lifetime of memories that Isaac will cherish for the rest of his life.
 
From unimaginable heartbreak to a new-found strength and perspective, Stump leaned on his Wildcat coaches and teammates to help him overcome an incredibly difficult period. A year later, and Stump is a living example of the Wildcat Way and everything that the phrase Bear Down stands for.