“I just really enjoy giving back. I think it’s fun and fruitful, and I’ll continue to do it as long as I can.”
Paisley Simmons, C’21, Sewanee’s former assistant swimming and diving coach, is not afraid to set ambitious goals. As a senior in the College, she was named Sewanee’s first female All-American diver by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), as well as the 2021 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Diver of the Year. Prior to earning these accolades, she set school records in every women’s diving category at the Fowler Center Natatorium. She says her drive to succeed started on a crispy, chocolatey note: “Cookie sales were probably the biggest game-changer for me.” Simmons joined Girl Scouts of the USA at age 5 and maintains a lifetime membership. It was through the organization’s famous fundraising initiative that, she says, “I learned how to set goals. I started as a young girl and told myself, ‘I’m going to be the top seller in the troop’—and then it just escalated.”
During her years as a Sewanee coach, Simmons exercised her fundraising savvy by rallying support for the University’s swimming and diving program on Tiger Tuesday. In May 2024, she stepped down from her position to pursue a doctoral degree in occupational therapy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), but she continues to fund Sewanee swimming and diving. She also contributes to other programs that shaped her undergraduate experience, including the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychology, the cheerleading program, and Sewanee athletics’ general fund.
Simmons’ Sewanee philanthropy qualifies her as part of the Breslin Society, a giving society for alumni with membership based on both annual giving level and the number of years that have passed since a donor graduated. “Young alumni strengthen the Sewanee Fund in countless ways,” says Whitney Franklin, executive director of the Sewanee Fund and advancement services. “Many give their time as class agents, and we feel it’s important to recognize those who generously offer recurring financial support. Philanthropy is no small task when you’re trying to launch your career or further your studies. Lots of us have been there.”
A Louisville, Kentucky native, Simmons says her college selection process was heavily influenced by her participation in a competitive diving program offered through the University of Louisville (UofL). Before entering the program as a high school senior, Simmons wasn’t sure she wanted to pursue diving at the collegiate level. “I started diving when I was 13, but only during the summer,” she says. As part of the Cardinal Dive program at UofL, Simmons transitioned from diving a few months each year to diving every day of the week and competing in meets. She says she loved the experience—and looked for a college environment that would enable her to continue growing as a student-athlete. After touring Sewanee’s campus and speaking with former Head Swimming and Diving Coach Max Obermiller, P’14, she put the University at the top of her list. Obermiller’s early confidence in her diving abilities, she says, meant a lot to her. “He said, ‘Whatever you want to do [with your diving career], I’m here to help and support you.’”
Though Simmons spent significant time in the pool as an undergraduate, she was equally devoted to her studies. As a freshman, she set her sights on becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon and filled her schedule with classes in neuroscience and psychology. “I’m a huge nerd, and I think it’s really cool that the brain controls everything we do,” she says. “I wanted to tap into that [interest] and learn more about it.” When Sewanee created a neuroscience major during Simmons’ sophomore year, she signed on immediately. “It was a great opportunity,” she says. “I think my class was the first to be able to go through the neuroscience program from start to finish.”
As Simmons deepened her involvement with diving, she says, she soon learned the importance of trusting her abilities. No matter how many times you stand on a diving board, “You never really overcome the fear. You just push through it.” She adds it’s impossible to know exactly how a dive will turn out, so persistence is vital. “Most of the time it will go your way, but sometimes it doesn’t—and sometimes we have the ability to adapt in the air.”
Simmons’ knack for adjusting and adapting became unexpectedly helpful during the spring of her junior year, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to escalate. The previous semester, she had been a member of Sewanee’s cheerleading team, but pandemic concerns necessitated the suspension of that program. She continued with her swimming and diving commitment and additionally served as co-president of the Sewanee Multicultural Health Society, a pre-health ambassador, and a Cru/Bible study leader. As a senior, she also became vice president of Kappa Omega. Acclimating to pandemic norms as a campus leader was “tough,” Simmons admits, but she says it led her to “focus on the here and now. When I went to [diving] practice, I thought, ‘I may not be able to practice tomorrow, so what can I focus on today?’”
Social distancing requirements meant that most swimming and diving competitions were postponed or canceled. In early 2021, Simmons received permission from the University to participate in the SAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, but she hesitated to make travel plans. Not only was there the ever-present possibility of illness, but only one of her teammates, James Hoyt, C’21, could join her, and her coach, friends, and family members wouldn’t be there in person to cheer her on—guests weren’t permitted in the arena. “It was a really hard decision,” Simmons says, “but at the end of the day, I thought, ‘This is something I’ll never have the chance to do again.’” Ultimately, she took a leap—figurative, this time—and it paid off. Along with winning Diver of the Year, she earned first place in one- and three-meter board meets, “which was a goal of mine at the very beginning of my diving career,” she says. Later that year, she was named an All-American by the CSCAA based on its virtual review of her diving performance.
As she navigated the challenges of the pandemic, Simmons also reevaluated her professional aims and decided against going to medical school. “I thought, ‘I want to coach. That is my passion right now.’” Three months after earning a B.S. in neuroscience, she rejoined the Sewanee community as a staff member. The shift from student to employee was initially tricky, she says, because she was tasked with coaching her former teammates. “I was very thankful that they really respected me, my time, and the things I had to say.” Because the swimming and diving team had experienced frequent turnover among assistant coaches, Simmons vowed to remain in the position for at least two years. In the end, she coached for three years—and says she would have stayed longer if it were feasible to attend graduate school simultaneously.
A career in occupational therapy wasn’t on Simmons’ radar when she enrolled at Sewanee, but she learned more about the profession from a friend and decided it fit her academic interests and enthusiasm for guiding others through challenges. “I’ll graduate [from UTC] in May of 2027, and then we’ll see where life takes me,” she says.
Simmons describes her financial support for Sewanee as personally fulfilling. “I just really enjoy giving back. I think it’s fun and fruitful, and I’ll continue to do it as long as I can.” As a student, and then a staff member, she says, she gained a front-row view of how donor generosity strengthens campus programs. For example, she says the men and women’s swimming and diving team engages in an annual training trip that couldn’t take place without gifts from Sewanee families.
On an even broader scale, Simmons adds, it’s not difficult to see how benefactors elevate the University. “It’s exciting to see success in admissions, scholarships, internships, and other [areas], even if I didn’t experience them. It’s making everyone better as a whole.”
