Volume 29 · Number 2 · Winter 2012
Web extra: Young alums in the work world
Sheeva Ghanbari
Co-creator of Lo Swim
After four months of fruitlessly searching for jobs after graduation, former Aggie swimmer Sheeva Ghanbari '09 stopped waiting around for employers to call her back and became her own boss.
Sheeva Ghanbari
At the time, the national unemployment rate was almost 10 percent. “I was used to working really hard and seeing the benefits, like studying for tests and getting good grades,” said Ghanbari, who triple majored in political science, international relations and philosophy. “For the first time in my life, I got nothing but rejection.”
Ghabari, who served as the Aggies 2008–09 women’s swim team captain, teamed up with friend and former UC Berkeley swimmer, Annie Babicz, to create a swimsuit line for competitive swimmers called Lo Swim. The name derives from the French word for “water” (“l’eau”).
The company’s goal is to create a long-lasting training suit in which female swimmers both comfortable and strong, which Ghanbari describes as “feminine athleticism.”
Growing up as a competitive swimmer, Ghanbari kept her earrings in and rings on during swim practice as a way to keep her style. “Even when you’re in the water, you’re still a girl,” she said. “Being an athlete shouldn’t mean that you’re masculine,” she said. “It seems to be that in order to be tough, you have to let go of your femininity, but girls should have both.”
With a strong year of business, Lo recently saw a large increase in sales from outside the state, from places like Minnesota, New York, Texas and Wisconsin.
Last July, Ghanbari started her new job as a technical recruiter for Kforce Inc. in San Francisco, though she still actively works on Lo Swim.
She also recently had a personal milestone—in October, she married fellow Aggie swimmer Arie van Gemeren ’09. They live in Oakland.
Advice to recent graduates: “Really follow through on ideas. People have ideas all the time, but it’s only people who follow through who see the fruit. It was incredibly rewarding to see my idea living and breathing and on people.”