Almost 20 hours away from her home in Érd, Hungary, freshman swimmer Lia Csulak uses her positivity to find comfort and wade through the weeds of unfamiliarity in her new home.
Csulak spent most of her time growing up in Kuwait but moved to Hungary just a few years before committing to ASU. She chose ASU two years prior to actually stepping foot into the desert of Tempe because of the training program the team has. Csulak also previously knew multiple Hungarian swimmers who swam for the program in years past.
"I have been loving my time here," Csulak said. "The culture is so different, but I really like it. It is so positive."
Positivity is a keyword when it comes to Csulak and her mentality. She sees it within herself, and her coaches see it just the same. Her positivity is the trait that has led the charge in her adjustment to the States.
When her first flight to the U.S. landed in Dallas, there were Americans who talked to her "out of the blue," which she said isn't an everyday thing where she is from, but came as a pleasant surprise to her.
"Hungary is a pretty negative environment, but I am usually known to be quite a positive person," Csulak said. "So when I came here, the positivity felt very natural to me and I felt it from everyone else as well."
In her collegiate debut against Georgia on Sept. 22, she swam long course meters and swam the 500-meter freestyle, the 150-meter butterfly, and the 400-meter freestyle relay. In the same meet the next day, she swam in the 1,000 freestyle, 200 fly, 500 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay.
Then, against UNLV on Oct. 6, she took third in the 1000 freestyle and also swam the 500 freestyle.
Head coach Bob Bowman said after their meet against NC State on Oct. 20 that one of the big things that Csulak has been learning during the beginning of her ASU career is a type of swimming that she is not as accustomed to.
"She is learning about the short course swimming, which they really don't have (in Hungary)," Bowman said. "The skills like the turns, the speed of it, she's learning how to do that, and I think she has made steady progress every time she's swum."
Csulak, still getting familiar with short course swimming and still adjusting to her new home, only has room to grow, and coach Bowman expects to see that growth. He has high expectations for Csulak, although he recognizes that she may have some more work to do before she can help the team at the NCAA level. His expectation is that she will get to that level sometime this year.
In the pool, Csulak primarily works in the distance group with Logan Hirka, an assistant coach on the team. According to Csulak, Hirka is a "big breath of fresh air" because he is easygoing and likes to keep things simple, unlike some of her coaches back home.
Hirka has the same type of appreciation for Csulak; she enjoys everything that she does, which makes her very easy to mentor.
"She is a super fun person to be around," Hirka said. "She has great energy, she’s pretty bubbly in a way, where ... she's always happy, she's always a fun person to be around, and she is a pretty hard worker too."
With her charismatic attitude and a slew of experience to be attained here in the desert, Csulak is looking forward to her future as one of the young, budding members of the squad. Through thick and thin, she'll always have her infectious mindset.
Edited by Vincent DeAngelis, Sadie Buggle and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at hjsmardo@gmail.com and follow @HenryJSmardo on X.
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Henry is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked as a sports reporter.
