February 26, 2025
c/o Lydia Brutvan

c/o Lydia Brutvan

Government and Environmental Studies double major Lydia Brutvan ’25 spent her childhood running around outdoors. Now she’s competing in triathlons and is set to race in the World Triathlon Championship in Spain next year. Outside of her time-consuming training plan, Brutvan is involved with classical music and sustainability efforts on campus and just got into law school. Brutvan took time out of her busy schedule to talk with The Argus about her past four years at Wesleyan. 

The Argus: Why do you think you were nominated to be a WesCeleb?

Lydia Brutvan: I think I do things that not a lot of people here do, which makes me stick out in a way that has unfortunately happened since freshman year. I’m not super popular, so that’s the only reason why I could think [I was nominated]. By that I mean, I do sports and then I just got into law school for next year and got a full ride. Most people are taking a gap year, so maybe they thought that [it] was interesting and dumb that I’m going straight into it. 

A: Congratulations. What was your application process like? 

LB: I spent my summer studying my ass off for the LSAT, which sucked. I used to go through a novel a day, but instead, this summer, I would sit in my study book, which was sad. But I got a really high LSAT score and was like, “Oh, they’ll probably give me some good money.” And then they gave me an all-academic scholarship, which is a full tuition waiver. 

A: What drew you to law school?

LB: I think I have characteristics that drew me naturally to the law track. I can read a lot and retain a lot of information, and I love to argue. I feel like I’m regurgitating my personal statement right now, but basically, I’ve always wanted to help people. I grew up helping my siblings and always being the one in friendships where if someone was shy, I would be the one to talk. I basically grew up talking [on behalf of] people who didn’t want to or couldn’t. And nothing’s more defenseless than the environment. 

Unlike most people, when I got here, I knew exactly what I wanted to study and what I wanted to do after college. In high school, I interned in a legal department at the DEC of New York, which is the Department of Environmental Conservation, and I loved it.  

A: Let’s shift gears a little bit and talk about what you like to do in your free time. 

LB: I do a lot of music. Not as much this semester, because half of my group graduated last year, but I did seven semesters of the chamber music program here and formed a group called Beethoven’s Brothel. I also do music for burlesque and a lot of other smaller musical things on campus. And then I do a lot of work with sustainability. I’m the EF [Environmental Fellow] Coordinator, which takes up a lot of time, but I love it. I love working in the Sustainability Office, and I wish that I’d started working [there] sooner. 

And then the biggest time hog is triathlon, which probably takes up 15 to 20 hours a week. And that’s really intense, and getting more intense, because I’m going to the World Championships next year in Spain, which is obviously a big deal.  

A: How do you stay organized?

LB: Google Calendar. 

A: That makes sense. Walk me through a typical triathlon training schedule. 

LB: This week I had a rest day on Monday. Yesterday was an hour-long swim and an hour-long run. Today is an hour-long bike workout. Tomorrow is a lift and a run. Friday is an hour swim, an hour-and-a-half bike ride, and then a run straight off the bike, which is called a brick run, because your legs feel like bricks. Saturday’s a lift and a ride, and then Sunday is an hour swim and then an hour ride with hills.  

It’s hard to do with school, for obvious reasons, and class schedules can be inflexible. Sometimes it feels like I have to choose between work and training. But it is, I think, easier to balance than people think because I’m very organized and have a lot of anxiety about not getting things done. I get things done, and it’s exhausting and it’s hard. I just got a new coach, and the training is a lot harder right now, and it’s also more time-consuming. It’s been difficult, but it also keeps me sane. I swam on the swim team for three years, but I’m not doing that this year. Triathlons felt like a natural evolution of what I needed to do.

A: Do you have any advice that you would give your freshman self?

LB: Do your fucking homework. I didn’t do homework freshman year. What was I doing? Also, stay focused, because I wasn’t. And it’s okay that you haven’t found your people yet. Take your time and be yourself. 

A: Do you have a highlight of your Wesleyan experience?

LB: Honestly, no, I don’t think so, because it’s just gotten better as it’s gone along. Each semester has literally gotten better and better, and I feel like living in a house with my friends has been the best part of my experience here so far. But I don’t have anything specific. Most of my best memories are just like sitting outside with my friends or performing or doing normal college things. 

I was really lonely during freshman year, and I think I just learned more and more how to be comfortable with myself so that I felt less isolated. And I think as I got more comfortable with myself, I also became more comfortable around other people, and that allowed me to have more meaningful relationships. 

A: Do you have any final comments you would like to share?

LB: I really wanted to transfer my first two years on campus, and I thought that I had ended up at the wrong school. But then I stuck it out, and I don’t think I would have gotten into the law school that I did without going here. And I don’t think things would have just fallen into place in the same way. I feel like a lot of people feel very doubtful when they start college. Some people are like “No way, this is my place,” but most people have lingering doubts, and I was one of those people. I feel like if you stick with what you’re interested in and what you’re passionate about, it works out in some way or another, even if it’s not what you thought [it would be]. Things just worked out in a way that I couldn’t have imagined before. So I feel like even though I didn’t break any swim records and I’m not leaving behind anything that people will remember me for, I don’t really care because I feel like it worked for me.
Lyah Muktavaram can be reached at lmuktavaram@wesleyan.edu.

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