Student Michel Brassard on Balancing Studies and Competitive Swimming

RIT Croatia prides itself in having a diversified student body with many strong individuals who contribute to a high-quality studying environment with their achievements in multiple areas of interest.

Michel Brassard, a 3rd-year student in the Web and Mobile Computing program at our Dubrovnik campus, is most certainly a shining example of a strong individual with a drive to succeed. Besides being a stellar student and a teaching assistant in the mentioned program of study, Michel has been a competitive swimmer for the past decade. While being a member of the Croatian Swimming Club Jug and Croatian Swimming Federation, Michel has participated in multiple state and international championships.

We were curious to ask Michel a couple of questions.

Q: What sparked your interest in studying IT and why did you choose to study at RIT Croatia?

Michel: STEM subjects were always interesting to me. At first, I didn’t have a precise idea of what to study, but what peaked my interest in RIT Croatia was the focus on practical work throughout the 4 years of study.

Q: Experiential learning via co-ops (internships) is an integral part of RIT education and something that helps students test everything they learned in classes – in practice. What are your thoughts on cooperative education and how did you find your co-op?

Michel: I was looking at co-op options presented by RIT Croatia Career Services and I just sent my application to companies that had positions for which I have enough skills and that seemed interesting. After that, I just waited for a response and I finally landed a job at LAUS CC working as a Junior Programmer. My experience with my first co-op is positive! The most important takeaway from my co-op is that I have seen how one software company worked from the inside. During the co-op, I was able to transfer some of my knowledge of programming, and in addition, I had to learn at work because the company used their own software which couldn’t be taught in class.

Q: As part of the study exchange possibilities within RIT Croatia campuses, you spent a semester at RIT Croatia’s Zagreb campus and you are planning to go back again for the fall semester. In your opinion, what are the benefits of exploring multiple campuses/cities while studying?

Michel: There are many benefits of spending a semester on another campus, for example, students get to explore a new city, meet new friends, and new professors, and enroll in courses that other campuses may not have.

Q: And now to sports. First massive congratulations on all of your achievements. What is a highlight from your sports career that you are incredibly proud of?

Michel: The current highlight of my sports career is my national record for 200 fly (short course) in the category for swimmers that are 20 years of age or younger. I achieved this result at the State Championship that was held in Rijeka, Croatia in December 2022.

Q: How do you manage studying and training for competitive swimming? What is the key to successfully maintaining a sports career and studying?

Michel: Managing training and studying is not so different from managing work and study. Most of it boils down to two essential things: minimizing procrastination and being consistent with both training and studying. The high point is that it forces you to be organized and makes you physically fit, but the low point is that it can get a little overwhelming when periods of hard training overlap with exam weeks.

Q: Finally, what would be your advice to young athletes who are about to choose their further education? What’s the key to managing it all?

Michel: Don’t compare yourself with athletes who currently don’t go to any kind of school. In order to manage everything be consistent with your work. When one thing is going well the other will follow.