[OUWC] alumni responses

[Dumais, Carly]

I want you guys to be able to read the full responses from the alumni. Yes, it is lengthy but they put a lot of thought into it and it really puts things into perspective. Enjoy [😊]


Elisa:

Hi ladies,

For those who do not know, my name is Elisa Kreiman and I was a three-year rower and two year executive board member as fundraising chair. It's extremely difficult to put into words what exactly OUWC means to me.

I joined the team in an unconventional way. During my freshman year I was a goalkeeper for the OU club field hockey team.. It was a big disorganized but that fall we played in two tournaments. When we got back from our second tournament less and less people started showing up to practice. It got to the point were only 3 of us were consistently showing up for practice and the president decided to cancel practices for the rest of the quarter.

When we returned for winter quarter we had our first practice and only myself and the president showed up. If you've ever seen field hockey played it's hard to only play with two people. The president and I were both extremely frustrated and we tried our best to get more people to show up. Finally the president ended up quitting the field hockey team to join another club sport. When spring quarter came around she sent one final email asking if anyone wanted to take over as president and form a new board. If no one stepped up to the task, the team would be expelled and would not be eligible for reinstatement. And that's what happened. Leaving behind a sport I loved since I was in fourth grade was devastating. I couldn't fathom that my teammates could just stand by and let a sport we all loved come crumbling down. I've never experienced anything like that before.

When I returned that fall for my sophomore year I realized I needed another sport to keep me occupied. I considered joining water polo but realized I would probably drown. Crew was something I had seen before in high school and looked like a challenge. I signed up at the involvement fair that day and I've never looked back. I told my parents what I was doing and they said there's no way that you're going to get up before 6 AM to go run a 5K. That Friday I did just that. We ran a 5K and did a deck of cards workout. We then hobbled on over to Shively which would be the first of hundreds of breakfasts I would spend with thecrew team.

Being a part of this team was the single most rewarding part of my college career. I could talk the valuable life lessons and discipline crew taught me. I could talk about how crew pushed me to do things I never thought were possible. I could talk about how crew has helped me grow as a person and how it helped me become the confident educator I am today. I could go on for hours about these things. But the most important thing crew brought me was family.

As a novice, the varsity class wasn't very nice to us. They kind of ignored us and let us do our own thing. We honestly didn't even know all of the varsity’s names until Camp Bob. But because of that, it brought us closer as a novice class. Day in and day out we would go to practice together, go to breakfast together, and later in the day hang out together because we missed each other. The novice class of 2012 will always stick out because of how tight knit were. Come that spring after Dad Vail we were beyond excited to finally become varsity rowers and finally get a chance to wear the jackets.

That fall we vowed to do better. We vowed to never treat any upcoming novice like that. We also vowed to never treat each other like that. To never let thing such as seat races ruin our friendships. I think we did just that. I hope to those of you that rowed with me, that we tried our best to make everyone feel included. The friendships I formed from crew will forever stay with me. I can truthfully say that as an alumnus I still talk to my teammates every day. These ladies have changed my life for the better.

My senior year I was placed in an eight that the majority of the rowers were novice. Was I upset about this? Absolutely. I was pretty devastated to find out that after all my hard work on this team that I didn't earn a seat in the varsity 4 boat. I took a day to be upset then after that I thought, “You know what, this is the boat I was placed in and we're going to work our hardest no matter what.” And we raced. It wasn't the greatest race but it was the most memorable. Our coxswain called power tens for each person in the boat. We took a ten for every single seat and hearing her call everyone's name motivated me to push myself that I didn't think was possible. As soon as we crossed that finish line I broke down in tears. That was it. It was my last collegiate race. The last time I would ever wear an Ohio university uni in a regatta. I fell into four seats lap and she looked at me and said "we rowed this race for you." I've never felt something quite like that in my entire life. I've played plenty of sports. But nothing is as satisfying as rowing. No other sport makes you push yourself to the limit quite like this. Knowing that there are eight other women in that boat busting their asses to get that boat across the finish line. Knowing that made me never want to give up.

Never again in your life will you be able to sit in a boat with these teammates. Treasure the time you have together. Treat each other with the respect you deserve. But push each other each day to become better. Look around you. Each and every single person sitting around you is sitting here for a reason. Push for them, and I guarantee they're doing the same.


Emma:

Transitioning to varsity is about having mutual respect. Mutual respect for your teammates and the sport, in and out of the boat. Find the one thing or things each person brings to the team and appreciate it. Coming from having a coach who is there to correct you and give encouragement, it's hard to jump right into varsity where there isn't one person to rely on who will answer all those questions and fix the tiny mistakes you make -- it's your teammates. On varsity, you need to be your own self critique, be asking yourself what you can do to make yourself better, ask your teammates what you can do to make yourself better. Absolutely no one is perfect -- and if you think you are, you're the person who's hurting the team.

Being on varsity is remembering you ultimately all have the exact same goal, to win. And you can only achieve that goal by working together. You all need to push each other and help each other. That's what I loved so much about my first year on varsity; everyone pulled together so much to push each other to be their best and everyone truly earned their spot in the boat. You realize that you don't just get put in the boat because you're more experienced or have been to more practices; you get a seat by EARNING it. Not only earning it with the low split times, but also by keeping a positive attitude on and off the water, being helpful towards your teammates, and your willingness to correct your mistakes.

It's not easy to not have a coach and it certainly isn't easy to take constructive criticism from your teammates. But being on varsity made me learn that it's just that - constructive criticism. I learned to constructively criticize and to hear it. And it makes it a whole lot easier to critique and be critiques if there's a sense of mutual respect. It may be hard to love each and everyone of your teammates but it isn't hard to respect them. Respect that you all have the same goal, that you're all up at the ass crack of dawn, that you're all pushing your bodies to the limit. Respect.

To last years novice, this is why Casey and I stressed respect for each other so much in the spring. A boat with mutual respect rows so much better than one without it. A boat with teammates who appreciate each other is the boat that crosses the finish line with smiles on their faces, regardless of the results. There's no better feeling in the world then that. Work hard this season for that feeling, and when it happens, cherish it.

P.s. Crew spelled backward is werc. Ya gotta werc together to achieve your goals 😝


Lexi:

I love crew because it's my family. We are always around and we care for and take care of each other in good times and in bad times. I fell in love with the feeling of being on the water with 8 of my teammates all working towards the same goal. It didn't matter how different we were or what we were studying, or what age we were, we all loved to row and we got up early to do so and that's one thing I absolutely loved. The idea of working hard for my teammates because I know they're busting their ass for me too. That's such an incredible feeling.

Being a varsity rower means that you have novice rowers looking up to you all the time. Whether it's at practice, meetings, or even just around campus. They know who you are, trust me. I'm sure you all remember a varsity rower you looked up to as a novice and why you looked up to them. You probably liked their energy at practice and how hard they worked, or because they were kind to everyone, or maybe they acknowledged you when you previously thought the varsity girls surely couldn't have noticed you. Think about that person now. Why did you look up to them? Why did you want to be like them?

I know I couldn't wait to be on varsity and one of the reasons was because the varsity rowers weren't always particularly nice to my class as a novice. A lot of girls quit that year because of that. I wanted to change that when I became varsity and I like to think that we did. It's important to make the novice feel welcome, wanted, and worthwhile. That's how you're going to continue to build your team up.

Being on varsity isn't all about being the coolest, or the fastest or anything like that.  It means working your hardest and doing your best and always trying to be better for yourself and your teammates and setting a good example for upcoming novice so they understand what it means to be a varsity rower. It's working hard and respecting your teammates, whether they're the same age as you, or 3 years younger/older than you.



Kaila:

Some of you know me and some you don’t. If you know me, you know that I rowed on this team for 4 years. For some you, I was your coach for a semester. Some of you also probably know that I have a small tattoo on my wrist that says, “Power 10”. The words are facing me, so I can always look at them.


I got that tattoo to remind myself of everything being a part of this team has meant to me. When I look at my wrist, I see all the early morning practices with water freezing on the oars because it was just so cold. I see the hard erg pieces, where I was convinced that my legs will break before even finishing the piece. I see the long runs up that hill at Strouds Run in the pouring rain. I see my bloody hands at the end of a race, shoulders gone numb, lungs burning, and heart throbbing. I see dedication, hard work, and respect. But I think the most important thing I see when I look at my wrist is this team. I see the faces that I have done so many Power tens with. The faces I would Power ten for forever. I see the girls that have all torn themselves apart and rowed their hearts out, just so we can make it to the finish line together. I see the way all of the girls who have ever been on this team have shaped me into the person I am today. The girls I couldn’t do without.


I hope you all know how magical this is, being a part of this team. Some people search for their entire lives for that magic. You get to be a part of something so special every time you sit in that boat. Because every time you sit in that boat, you’re a piece of something so much bigger. Someone before you has sat in that same seat. Someone before you has put their blood, sweat, and tears into that boat. Someone before you has pulled that same oar through the water with every fiber of their being. Someone before you has put their heart and soul into every stroke they have rowed in that boat.


Being a piece of something this amazing means you must have mutual respect for each other. It means pushing yourself to the limit and working your ass off every single day at practice. It means caring for your teammates and picking them up when they fall down. It means seeing the amazingness in each other. It means telling your teammates that they are amazing when they don’t believe it themselves. It means thinking more about “we” instead of “me”.  Being a member of varsity, especially means all of this things, because now, you have a new group of girls that look up to you. You have to teach them all of these things. You have to teach them what being a member of this team is all about.


I believe in every single one of you. You are all beautiful, strong, kick ass girls. I believe in this team. I believe that together, you are an unstoppable force. This is the ultimate team sport and you have to work together. I have this quote that I wrote down on a piece of scrap paper on the wall in my room. It says, “It’s not about crossing the finish line, it’s about who does it with you.” At the end of the day, you cannot cross the finish line without the girls sitting it that boat with you.




Patton College of Education

Restaurant, Hotel, and Tourism

Ohio University Class of 2017

Ohio Women's Crew, President
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