The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

HOW often do you hear eight-year-olds talking about their ancestors and those who have gone before them? When Isabella Munroe started speaking on these terms, I was impressed. She spoke articulately about her family-oriented foundation and her future... not in a way that seems forced, as if she were trained to do so. She naturally expresses herself well and is wise beyond her years.

She swims competitively and is often ranked among the top three in her age group nationally. In a recent swim meet, Issy, as she is affectionately called, won all her races, dropping times in all of them - 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and 200m freestyle. If Isabella continues on her current trek, she could very well be representing The Bahamas on the international stage in swimming.

“I swim almost every day,” Isabella told me.

“I don’t get tired of swimming every day. We (my swim club) practice all the strokes and do drills. My mother (D’Atra Munroe) and my aunt (Amanda McPhee) taught me how to swim in my grandmother’s pool when I was a little baby.”

“Isabella is the definition of excellence,” D’Atra said of her daughter.

“She has been swimming competitively since the age of four and is currently the fastest in the Caribbean for her age group. She is a strong-willed, focused, respectful, and extremely passionate young lady. From birth, she was a force to be reckoned with, so it comes to me as no surprise to see where she is, and I can envision where she is going.”

“Her ability to connect with animals, regardless of the species, shows her enormous heart. She is an honour roll student who finds school an adventure. She plays the violin and religiously attends lessons. She is musically gifted. She loves to dance. She loves her family and loves to make everyone smile.”

I asked Isabella about family. She told me she loves spending time with them because she learns so much about her history. She stands on the shoulders of ancestors, such as Juanita Watson (née Carroll) of Long Island, whose generous nature, business savvy and indomitable spirit gave her a big personality, much like her great granddaughter has today. She loves spending time with her great grandfather, Solomon Watson, a well-known contractor and businessman who also hails from Long Island, and her great grand-uncle, former Deputy Prime Minister, Frank Watson. Her grandmother, Linda Watson-Munroe is well known in the field of beauty and aesthetics as a seasoned professional. She also enjoys spending time with and gaining wisdom from her grandparents Amos and Stella McPhee. Stella enjoys helping Isabella with her homework every day, and devotedly takes her to and from swim practice.

Learning of the lives of her great grandparents Errol and Irmath Munroe also helps to enrich her life experience and give her an edge over other youngsters who may consider learning of their ancestors a boring or arduous feat. Isabella told me that she also loves to talk about her aunt, Sabrina Wright - known to family as ‘Nana’ - who passed away, because “keeping the memory of our loved ones alive is important”.

Her grandfather, Drexel Munroe, has passed on many talents to Isabella.

“All the members of my grandfather’s family play an instrument,” she told me.

“My instrument is the violin. My grandfather plays the piano.”

In fact, Drexel is a veteran musician and well-loved pianist. Isabella also found a love for horses and enjoys horseback riding because of him.

Isabella dreams one day of becoming an Olympian in swimming. Currently, she’s a star swimmer at Mako Aquatics, where her father, Travano McPhee is head coach. Her personal coach is Dwayne Davis, Jr.

I wanted to know how she manages to stay motivated every day to get into the water and swim. Even when she is not in the pool, she enjoys swimming in the ocean. But for Isabella, it’s really all just fun. She has found something she is excited to do every day. She told me if she practices every day and “stays focused”, she’ll get faster.

Her aunt Amanda is also a swim coach, who has watched her blossom into a medal-earning young athlete.

“She showed a lot of potential at a very young age, no fear of water,” Amanda said.

“When she was about two, she was swimming better than most four-year-olds. As she swims competitively I let her know that there is always room for improvement. We haven’t seen the world yet... we haven’t been challenged, we don’t know other competition. So, don’t get complacent and try to be the best. She has to maintain a balance between schoolwork and swimming, and it will take her far.”

As if the lofty goal of becoming one of the world’s best swimmers wasn’t enough, Isabella also has her eyes set on outer space. She expressed no fear as she talked about exploring the planets.

“I like science because my mom is actually a scientist,” she said.

She went on to tell me about fun she performs at her school, Genesis Academy, including a recent one where she and her class made a pulley using counterweights.

Like a normal eight-year-old, of course Issy has many things she can see herself being when she grows up. Another one is a veterinarian. She loves animals and they seem to love her, too... so much so that her mom calls her an “animal whisperer”.

D’Atra is prepared to support Isabella, helping her to become all she can be: “I continue to instil in my daughter that everything is impossible until it’s done - so get to doing. Like my father always says - where there is a will, there is a way.”