The country of Russia has the most land of any country in the world. A majority of the land is not inhabited by humans due to the cold and frigid temperatures. A little over 21 years ago, one Alfred State swimmer was born in the transcontinental nation, but her journey far exceeds the boundaries of even the world's largest nation.
To say that Alfred State College student-athlete Alina Kisluk has overcome adversity in her life is unquestionably an understatement. Despite any sort of challenges, Kisluk’s positive attitude is something that has gotten her through many tough times. At just six months old, Kisluk left her country of origin for the United States. Kisluk was an orphan who was adopted by an American family living in Hamburg, New York, just outside of Buffalo. The Kisluk family opened their home not just to Alina, but to another orphaned boy from Russia. The decision to give each of these children a better life is one that has made all the difference. While Alina has become a college athlete, her older brother Aaron is in the United States armed forces.
The siblings one day plan to visit their respective birth places in Russia, but for now, they are wrapped up in their careers and schooling. While each of them do not remember their days living an ocean away, Alina Kisluk surely remembers the struggles of overcoming six surgeries on her left knee, hip, and leg. It has been quite an incredible journey for Kisluk to become a college athlete, but just becoming one is not satisfactory to her.
“Growing up, I played a lot of different sports including dance, soccer, basketball, and gymnastics. However, I had to stop doing all of them because of the condition of my leg. Swimming was the first sport I started, and it is the sport I am thankful to be able to compete in still today.” While swimming is her passion now, it was not always that simple. Kisluk actually stopped swimming on three different occasions to pursue other interests and opportunities. However, she always found her way back into the water. After swimming for four years at Hamburg High, Kisluk gave up swimming in order to attend the University at Buffalo. She was focused on school and becoming a teacher, but her path changed as she was looking for a smaller school to attend and also a smaller school that had a nursing program.
Alfred State was a nearby college that had that opportunity, and it was a school that also presented Kisluk the opportunity to compete as a collegiate athlete in swimming. After being a short distance swimmer for the entirety of her life, Kisluk was about to transition into a long distance swimmer which she admits has made a tremendous difference in her success. “At first, I was not crazy about the idea. My coaches saw this ability in me, and I now love being a distance swimmer. It has helped me reach my highest potential.”
Two of the coaches she credits through the years for helping her reach her potential include her high school coach Dave Evans and her former college coach R.C. Weston. ”Coach Weston saw the potential in me to become a distance swimmer. Despite him not being my coach anymore, I give him a lot of credit for helping me best succeed as a college swimmer.” She also credits her parents Susanne and George for always being so supportive of her decisions and her career in swimming. Alfred State swimming coach Michael Smiechowski believes Kisluk can set a school record in the 500m, 1000m, and one mile races this season. It is a large goal for Kisluk, but she believes she can get there because of the high intensity workouts the Pioneers have been going through this school year.
While swimming has become an even bigger passion of hers, nursing was also a much better fit for her interests. Kisluk is leaning towards a career in emergency or surgical nursing because of her ability to remain calm in stressful and high intensity situations. She embraces the pressure packed races she has been involved with, and these situations have certainly helped prepare her for potential pressure packed moments she could face one day as a medical professional.
Alina Kisluk has overcome a lot to become the woman she is today. A woman with incredible strength, determination, and a great outlook on life. Despite a total of six leg, knee, and hip surgeries, changing schools, switching majors, and a few other bumps in the road, Kisluk is well on her way to success. As for the rest of her career in swimming, Kisluk will surely have a great opportunity to be one of the Pioneers all time great swimmers in school history.
After her career as a student-athlete is over, she is excited to continue to give swimming lessons and coach at the youth level. While the sport of swimming was not always her favorite sport or hobby, it has been instrumental in helping her become the person she is today and the person she wants to be in the future.
*** This story is part of a year-long series titled Faces of the AMCC: Steis' Stories. Featured writer Nate Steis will spend the year interviewing and reporting on student-athletes and coaches throughout the AMCC to show what makes the "Faces of the AMCC" diverse and unique.