This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
 
 
Thousands of high school-aged student-athletes across the globe prepare to make the jump from the prep level to intercollegiate athletics every year. It is a privilege that is only earned by a very small percentage of talented, hardworking student-athletes, and for good reason – it is incredibly difficult.
 
It takes dedication, athletic talent, and academic competence to reach the next level, especially when it comes to an NCAA Division I program, making the transition one of the tougher mile markers in a young student-athlete's journey. Not only is it taxing to catch up to the competition athletically, but a medley of other responsibilities adds to the challenge, such as rigorous academics and, for many, living away from home for the first time.
 
Rising junior Humberto Najera of the California men's swimming & diving team is all too familiar with these challenges. When he made his transition from the club level to being a freshman at one of the top programs in the nation, he went through some growing pains.
 
"I think mostly what hit me freshman year was like a little bit of homesickness. Everyone gets that," said Najera, who hails from Rancho Santa Margarita in Southern California. "I also wasn't used to being on such an elite-level team. When I was in high school, I was used to being the fastest one in the pool and getting a lot of attention, which was something I always took as a given. So when I got here it was a bit of a rude awakening.
 
"I knew that there was going to be a lot of fast people but I thought I was going to be up there, too. I quickly found out that there are levels to it. You could be good in high school, but that doesn't mean anything when you get to college."
 
Najera came to Cal in the fall of 2023, firmly in the middle of the Olympic cycle. This is generally a difficult time for any Golden Bear swimmer to assimilate because while the team is gearing up for the collegiate season, there is also a push to qualify for the biggest stage in sports. With the U.S. Olympic Trials on the horizon, the training can become a bit more individualized. So incoming freshmen enter a high-pressure environment which can cause one to feel a bit lost.
 
The once big fish in a little pond had now been thrown into the ocean. If that weren't enough, Najera started to incur the challenges that appear outside of the pool, namely balancing a healthy lifestyle while being a data science student at the No. 1 public university in the world.
 
"When you get here, you know Cal is a school that's known for its academics, and you know it's not going to be easy, but my parents always taught me to put school first since swimming will end one day," Nejara said. "Even with that mindset it was still tough to adapt. High school was a breeze compared to what you have to do here, especially as a data science student who's learning math and coding. A lot of days I would procrastinate starting my schoolwork till the late evening, so I'd end up staying up late, which led to poor sleep and other unhealthy habits."
 
Something most current and former college students can attest to is the change of eating habits when moving away from home for the first time. For many, going from eating at home under the supervision of one's family to being out on your own without anyone to tell you how, when, and what to eat results in a new and unfamiliar freedom.
 
Najera's high school race weight was 165 pounds, but by the end of his freshman year at Cal he was up to 185.
 
Najera's rookie season wasn't up to his standards. He managed to reach the podium three times in 10 meets but his times weren't where he was hoping to be as a DI student-athlete.
 
"I swam a 3:46 in the 400-yard IM and a 1:42 in the 200-yard backstroke," Najera said. "Those are good high school times, but that's the point there - good high school times, not good college times."
 
Najera took four weeks off during the summer following his freshman year to reset before coming back to the pool with a newfound motivation and a year's worth of applicable lifestyle wisdom. His performance as a freshman lit a fire in him. He knew that he had to do things differently, and he did.
 
"Sophomore year, I came in ready to eat well, sleep better, and better handle my academic workload," Najera said. "I found more of a balance and began to set goals for myself as my training picked up."
 
Najera set the goal of hitting 1:38 in the backstroke, which would be four seconds better than his freshman year, and hoped to shave eight seconds off his 400 IM time for a 3:38. Two ambitious, yet attainable goals. Those times went up on the whiteboard in his bedroom as a daily reminder.
 
As the sophomore got to work, his efforts and change in mentality were noticed by his teammates and coaches.
 
"You could see that him not having the performances he was used to as a freshman really  kicked it into high gear for him," Cal Director of Swimming & Diving Dave Durden said. "We started to see Humberto work hard and do the simple things, and by the time we got to December you could see the work that he had been putting in over the four or five months starting to pay off. I think the Minnesota Invitational (in December) was a springboard for him because after that he just kept getting better and better until his performances began to meet his expectations and match his talent."
 
Najera came very close to reaching his goals at the Minnesota Invitational, placing first in the 400-yard IM with a time of 3:41.25 and second in the 200-yard backstroke at 1:40.39. Durden applauded the fact that he made his goals known and leaned on the community around him.
 
"It is a very vulnerable thing as an athlete to start putting expectations on yourself, express those goals to others and then have to live up to those expectations," Durden said. "It's hard when you stand on the block knowing there is a huge probability that you may not reach your goals and aspirations which might embarrass you and make you look like a failure to others. You aren't going to achieve those marks every time, but to be successful you have to put yourself in a spot to do that and he started with his training and how he was living his life to give himself those opportunities."
 
Najera's work paid off with him closing out his sophomore season with a couple of phenomenal swims. He came within one second of reaching both of his goals at the NCAA Championships in March, hitting at 1:39.30 in the 200-yard backstroke and 3:39.99 in the 400-yard IM to earn Second Team All-America status in both events.
 
Najera competed at the 2025 Acropolis Swim Open on behalf of the Mexico National Team in May and broke a pair of Mexican records. His 54.88 in the 100-meter backstroke and 1:57.76 in the 200-meter backstroke were both lifetime best marks. His 200-meter time was enough to qualify him for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
 
"It really boils down to two simple things - staying positive and working hard," Najera said. "I learned a lot during this experience so I hope I can lead by example the next two years and inspire the next group of underclassmen."