B1G Medal of Honor Winner Haughey Thrived in Ann Arbor in Every Way
5/2/2019 12:30:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Siobhán Haughey is fluent in three languages as a result of her father being from Ireland and her mother being Chinese, and came to the University of Michigan from Hong Kong not knowing what to expect as a swimmer or what career path would be sparked on her academic journey.
Traveling to the other side of the world turned out being far more than just worthwhile, though. Haughey thrived in every area.
She set 10 Wolverine records, was a 15-time Big Ten champion, a 14-time All-American and came so very close to becoming an NCAA champion, finishing second as a junior in the 200-yard freestyle. That's the same event she represented the Republic of Hong Kong in at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and finished fifth in at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
And Haughey takes a special pride in helping resurrect the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving program into a national force that went from finishing 30th and 22nd in the two years before she arrived to 10th, 11th, fourth and third in her four seasons.
She also found a calling in the psychology department, joining the Project Healthy Michigan Mentorship Program and discovering a desire to pursue full-time work with children after competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, for which she's already qualified. She was a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, three-time Academic All-Big Ten and a four-time Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement award winner, as well as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2018.
Haughey recently was named Michigan's female Big Ten Medal of Honor winner, joining men's soccer player Robbie Mertz in receiving the honor the conference considers the top achievement for any student-athlete. She's the third member of the Wolverine swimming and diving program to achieve that distinction, joining Mindy Gehrs (1993) and Kim Johnson (1998).
"It means a lot to me," said Haughey. "I'm extremely honored to win this award. I came to Michigan because I wanted to be the best in everything I do, and over the four years here, I've been working really hard in the pool and in school. And it's really nice to have people recognize your hard work. It's just such an honor, and I never expected to receive this award. So, I was also very surprised."
Haughey is graduating soon as a psychology major, and will ponder where to undertake post-graduate studies while training at the Canham Natatorium for the 2019 world championships and a second Olympics.
"Now I can just focus on training and being in the best shape possible," she said, adding that she will be working in Michigan's Towsley Children's House, where children five and under attend classes that nurture social behavior and enhance self-concepts. "Since I want to work with kids, this is the perfect job for me. I'll get to interact with kids to see how they learn and swim at the same time.
"I'm still exploring (a specialty area). I knew when I came to Michigan that I wanted to study psychology, and at first I was thinking about sports psychology. But then I realized I was very interested in kids and child development."
Siobhán HaugheyBy The Numbers
2X CSCAA Scholar All-American
3X Academic All-Big Ten
4X U-M Athletic Academic Achievement
4X All-Big Ten
10X School Record Holder
14X All-American
15X Big Ten Champion
'16 Olympian (Hong Kong)
'17 World Championships
'18 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
'19 World Championships (Qualified)
'20 Olympian (Qualified)
Haughey said her own "very healthy and happy childhood" brought about that interest.
"And through my childhood studies," Haughey said, "I realized that childhood determines so much of your future -- especially the first four years of your life. I've learned that, unfortunately, a lot of children didn't have the kind of childhood I had in such a happy environment. That's why I really started thinking about helping these children, and seeing what I can provide to help them so that they'll grow up in a healthy and happy environment, too."
She credits her psychology professors.
"The professors in the psychology department are very engaging," said Haughey. "They really love what they're teaching and give us really interesting topics and research papers to read. They are so willing to help you and teach you everything they know. They want you to succeed and that definitely helped me succeed. And especially as a student-athlete, you're traveling and they are accommodating. That helps balance school and swimming.
"I took three classes from the same professor, her name is Dr. (Katie) Jodl, and she's a great lecturer as well. She's a developmental psych professor, and so I really fit into her classroom. I was fascinated with the research findings she presented."
Haughey also mentored in the Project Healthy program.
"I joined it through a class," she said. "All the mentors get to choose which school they want to go to, and I chose high school because they're at an age where they go through a lot. I mentored downtown at (Ann Arbor's) Community High School three day a week, and would talk to kids in the freshman class to see if they needed help with homework or a person to listen to them. It's nice to have college students, who are closer to them in age than most teachers, talk to them.
"It was a very eye-opening experience for me. One student wasn't coming to classes and I asked about him and found out he was actually homeless with a lot of stress from the family, and also had a little sister he has to take care of. To provide some light and happiness to these students definitely made my day. That's what really made me realize I wanted to work with kids."
Haughey and her family at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
She has a sister, Aisling, who is two years older and attended college in Ireland and now works there. They were born and raised in Hong Kong by their mother, Canjo, who works in finance, and father, Darach, an accountant.
"My dad is from Dublin and was working in Hong Kong when he met my mom," said Siobhán, who can speak Cantonese and Mandarin in addition to English. "They'll probably go to Ireland when he retires. I like coming from two cultures. You learn different languages and that's cool. Ireland and Hong Kong are so different, and I've gotten to experience both. It's expanded my horizons and knowledge, and also made me more accepting to different cultures.
"Studying at Michigan, you also get to meet a lot of international students and see where they are from."
What was it like to represent the Republic of Hong Kong in the Olympics?
"It's such an amazing thing and an amazing experience," said Haughey. "One of my favorite moments was the Opening Ceremony, where we all wore the white outfit we had to as girls, like a formal suit, and wave the Hong Kong flag. It was so nice having everyone together -- especially since I train in the U.S., and don't get to see Hong Kong athletes from other sports very often.
"I knew it would be broadcast on TV, and so I tried to walk in front of all the cameras. People said, 'Oh, I saw you!' "
Led by medal-winning and record-setting outings from Haughey, the Wolverines secured a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships to give the program back-to-back top-four finishes for just the second time in its history (1995-96)
Haughey helped Wolverine head coach Mike Bottom and his staff turn their team into a national power.
"I came in when Michigan was at the final stage of rebuilding," said Haughey. "The new coaching staff had really started to change the program. Their goal was to make the program one of the best in the nation. But I wouldn't say it was all me who did that. It was the people who came before me, the coaches, and also my teammates, and the people coming after me.
"We had a really great recruiting class in my year, and they are amazing swimmers. And after our freshman year, we recruited great swimmers and divers, too. That's how we continued to get better."
Michigan won the first of three consecutive Big Ten championships in her freshman season, 2016, and Haughey won three individual championships while being named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships at the event held at Canham.
"Being at my home school definitely helped me calm myself down," she said. "I was so familiar with the pool and the environment. Being able to win our first Big Ten title in a very long time (since 2004) was so special to the whole team. I never expected to win three events and that award, but those are just bonuses."
Haughey holds 10 school records (six individual, four on relays), including the short-course (yards) and long-course (meters) records in the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley
What was Bottom's impact on her?
"He makes you believe in yourself," said Haughey. "You can doubt yourself before big meets. 'Did you train hard enough? Are you doing enough? Are you doing better than your competitors?' But he will assure you that everything is OK, and that you have enough. And once you believe in yourself, you can do anything. And he makes you feel that way.
"If you're having a bad day or a bad practice, just go to him, and he can reassure you that everything is all right."
Haughey said her proudest swimming accomplishment is finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle at the 2017 World Championships.
"I was only 19 at that time," she said, "and I'd never thought of doing something like that. It's kind of cool being fifth in the world."
Haughey was the first swimmer from Hong Kong to make the Olympic semifinals in an event in 64 years in 2016, and the South China Morning Post said her time of 1:56.91 in the preliminaries was a Hong Kong record.
She's motivated to accomplish even more in the 2020 Games.
"I hope to make the finals in 2020 and swim as fast as I can," said Haughey. "Everyone in the world is also improving, and I hope that in the coming years I can have really good training and achieve the goals I've set for myself."
Dedicating herself to the work necessary to make a difference while also making a name for herself made Haughey someone special at Michigan. It's the formula for success she now takes forward in her continued endeavors in the pool and school.
Players Mentioned
