For much of her childhood, Mazie Paradis did not envision swimming for one of the nation’s most prominent college athletic programs.

In fact, the New Glarus native did not particularly like swimming at first. Her mother, Emily Paradis, had competed collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and encouraged her children to give the sport a chance.

“My mom swam in college, so she kind of wanted all of us to get into swimming, or at least try it and see if we wanted to continue with it,” Paradis said. “Initially, I got into it because my mom forced me to.”

The reluctance did not last. As Paradis improved, swimming became the sport in which she felt most comfortable and successful. She also played soccer, basketball and competed in track, but eventually began concentrating on the pool and a goal that had gradually taken shape: becoming an NCAA Division I swimmer.

That ambition carried Paradis from New Glarus to the University of Alabama, where the 2025 New Glarus High School graduate recently completed her freshman season with the Crimson Tide.