Swim Lessons

For Melissa Westberg, swimming is a nonnegotiable part of life. It led her to school records, All-American honors, and a full-ride scholarship to Syracuse University, where she competed for four years.

“Swimming has a way of teaching discipline early and testing it daily,” says Westberg, a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney at GLP Attorneys in Seattle. “Division I swimming is not for the faint of heart. We trained 20 hours per week, balancing daily 5:30 a.m. practices with a full academic course load. On New Year’s Day, our ‘celebration’ was 100×100-yard repeats on a 1:15 interval—that’s 5.7 miles of swimming in just over two hours. It was as bad as it sounds.”

But she’s grateful for the lessons learned. “I have no regrets—only gratitude for the grit, discipline and early mornings the sport demanded. Swimming taught me how to show up consistently, even when tired or unmotivated. It taught me how to perform under pressure, push through discomfort, and stay focused over long periods of time. Those qualities now serve me daily as a litigator. I learned that doing physically hard things translates directly to mental endurance.”

She’s kept up with the physical endurance, too, lifting weights or doing Pilates every day. And, of course, she swims. A triathlon is on the calendar this summer.