May 16, 2005

Interview by Brittney Pepper, Sports Information Student Assistant

BP:What do you love most about rowing?

JB:I think what I love most about rowing is racing. It's putting it out on the line and trying to do your best.

BP:As a senior, how do you see your role on the crew team?

JB:I have to be really strong for my teammates. I think it is really important to act as a leader on and off the water because they look up to me, seeing my experiences and where I've been, how the program was when I was a freshman compared to where it is today. There have been steps taken towards becoming a better program in general. I think people look for guidance, so if they're not sure if something is going as it should, they'll ask me on the side, "Is there something I should be doing." Or if there is any sort of advice they need. It's also very important to have that seniority in the boat because as you work through paces, like for example race paces that you extenuate for shorter amounts of time on the water. At different times there are different feelings, so one time it might feel rough and the water might be high and we're just not being effective. I know a lot of times certain things that can help us because I've been there. I've done it so many times.

BP:Do you actually think you will be racing this spring, considering you had surgery on both of your arms?

JB:I actually haven't raced yet. I had surgery December 21. When I chose to do the surgery, I did it with this spring season in mind. A lot of people were shaken by the fact that I'm a senior having the surgery. They'd say, "Oh, your obviously a freshman or a sophomore and this is going to help you for several years." I say, "No, actually I'm a senior and I want to be able to race at Nationals in the beginning of June and the Senior Olympics this upcoming spring. I knew when I decided to do the surgery, I jeopardized several things. I may not be able to row all the time during spring training or the first regatta or currently, half my team is flying out to California right now and I really thought that I would be back in time to race for that. I've had several setbacks. I've developed tendonitis as a result of my forearms not being used. So I am trying to build back up, but not too much too soon. It wasn't that I did anything incorrectly, it's just that my body just wasn't ready. Yes I do think I'll be able to row at Nationals. I actually may be racing at the GW invite and I can't tell you how much enthusiasm I have towards that. Just to be able to get into the water with my teammates is amazing. Knowing that I can put on my uniform for the first time this year and really do what it's all about because it's really hard watching everyone else do a lot of rowing ad know that I'm missing out on it.

BP:What motivated you to join the crew team here at Georgetown?

JB:I was a walk-on. I was interested in going to school at William and Mary. In my junior year of high school I was taking a tour of the campus and asked a gentleman where to go. Then I asked him what he did at William and Mary and he said he rows. I asked him about it and he said he never rowed in high school. I was really thrown off by that because I had never been a very good athlete in middle school or high school, I just tried really hard. I just had a lot of heart. I wasn't good in basketball. My basketball skills were highly lacking, but there was a whole lot of heart. The guy said that most college crew teams do not require that you experience in rowing before you start so I thought about it over my senior year. The track season ended the spring of my senior year and I talked to my track coach about it and he knew a couple of people that had gotten into rowing. After I decided to go to Georgetown I decided that because Georgetown had a really good rowing program I really wanted to make that team. The summer after my senior year of high school I got up every morning at 5:30 and went running. I didn't even know how to put a blade in the water or pull effectively in a boat. All I knew was that I was going to work hard to get there. Little did I know that most people, like 1 out of 2 or 3 people are like, "let's try rowing, even for a day," and they would have taken me whether I had or hadn't worked really hard over the summer. I was addicted from the first day I got into the boat. I was like, "Oh my gosh. I get to do this everyday." It's just the thrill of getting into the boat and shoving off the dock and putting the blade in the water and rowing and racing the people next to you. I guess I am competitive. I want the competition. I always want to do my best and this has been the best outlet I can find.

BP:Do you think this year will be better than ever for you, because of your surgeries?

JB:I think so. I think when you give a whole lot, when you make a lot of sacrifices I think you expect a lot and really hope for the best. I honestly do think by the time Nationals roll around I will be a stronger rower than I have ever been in the past three years prior. This will be my fourth try at Nationals so that's really, really exciting for me to get that fourth chance to actually try for winning a medal. When you set your sights on a goal, my goal is definitely to win Nationals and some people may think that is lofty or unrealistic, but I don't. I think that on any given day, at any given point, it can be anybodies race. It's just a matter of putting all the puzzle pieces together to get to that point. I think this year holds so much potential because there is so much drive on the team, so much competition. I think it has definitely been the best team dynamics that I have been privileged to row with. I am really optimistic, I just need to get rowing. I need to get racing.

BP:What was your greatest achievement in crew?

JB:I think my best achievement is working through the surgery. I can get into personal erg scores. I've had some achievements there, but I think my best achievement was working through this injury and trying to be optimistic because it's been one of the biggest blows. The problems began my freshman year and developed and got worse through my sophomore year and really inhibited most of the spring season to the point were I was going into races knowing that the first 1,000 meters, the first half of the race, I could give it what I could, but the second half of the race it was up to my arms whether or not I was going to be able to hold on effectively. And I think that working through that and working somewhat blindly, hoping that my arms would recover in time and I would have that chance and continuing to do my best despite that. I think that's my biggest achievement, trying to work on that.

BP:So, would you say that's also the most challenging thing for you right now this season, or is there something else that is more prevalent?

JB:I think that also is my biggest challenge. I think the biggest challenge is getting up every morning and giving it your best and always expecting the best from yourself and expecting the best from your teammates. Whether it's a lighter kind of rowing or drills or racing people, always demanding your best effort every day. It carries over into the rest of your life: are you getting enough sleep, are you allowing enough time for your academics and if you put that time in, are you goofing off? You need to have some fun time and I'm not saying that you shouldn't study. There's a time for fun and then there's a time for you to be focused. I think the challenge is having consistent hard work.

BP:Is there anything that you would change or do differently if you were able?

JB:That's hard to say. I thought about doing the surgery after my junior year and then that would have meant a surgery over the summer and I would have been able to have the recovery a little bit sooner. I thought about that and after a couple of setbacks with my arms, I'm a little nervous as to whether or not I did the right thing with the surgery and I know I did the right thing. I know I should have gotten it and I'm glad I did. So, no I wouldn't.

BP:Do you have any future plans for life after Georgetown, especially with crew or anything with rowing?

JB:I chose to do the surgery at a time that would allow me to row at Nationals and allow me to compete well at Nationals. Also, part of that decision-making process, initially was would this impact my rowing after college. So, while I made the decision with the spring season in mind, there was some thought of what I would do after I graduate. I love rowing. I imagine myself when I'm 65 years old and I can't carry my boat by myself so I would have the dock master carry my boat down and me in my little row suit. And I'm a grandma and they're like, "Oh, grandma's out rowing right now." I love the sport. Whether I choose to do that through international competitions, I can't say that that's where I am going. I'd rather let life dictate where I should be and I'll be there. I'm pretty competitive so I can see myself wanting that and wanting more out of just a club team where you row in the afternoon and there's no purpose behind it. I do know that I do intend to make crew part of my life after college in some way. I don't know if I'd be a coach. I think I'd make a better rower than a coach because I am not hard enough on other people, but I'm really hard on myself. And then, as far as a job, I don't really know right know. I've applied to DC teaching fellows program for Teach for America, but whether or not I want to be a teacher for the rest of my life or if I want to go into policy education, I don't really know.

BP:What are you studying at Georgetown?

JB:My major is linguistics and my minor is psychology. To be honest, I don't know why I chose linguistics as my major, but I've been told that an undergraduate degree isn't nearly as important as what you do with it. I'm an eager learner. Show me how to do something and I'll do my best to learn it, so I think that is a skill that will take me far, even if my linguistics major doesn't initially put me on that path.

BP:What do you enjoy best about being at school here?

JB:I think I like the atmosphere. I like the people that are here. I like my teammates. I like the location being able to walk over to Thomas Sweets and get coffee and ice cream is amazing. If I want to go down to the boardwalk, I am down there all the time so I might not want to go down there that often. And I do like the school spirit and the students. Not the negative school spirit like talking badly about the cafeteria. I can do without that because that gets really old after a while.

BP:Is there anything you like to do when you aren't in the water or in the classroom?

JB:I like backpacking, actually. I went on a two week backpacking trek this past summer in New Mexico and I did over 100 miles. I really liked being out in the open and I was with a group of people, but it was a matter of carrying around a bunch of things that you needed and problem-solving. You are out in the middle of nowhere and having to look for bears and seeing whether or not things are safe, but you're also kind of on your own.

BP:Is there any advice that you want to give to younger people on the crew team or those aspiring to be a part of the crew team?

JB:I think it takes a special kind of person to really want to row and I think it takes a lot of drive. It takes a lot of personal sacrifice and integrity. If you are looking for something to challenge you everyday then I think that this is the right sport for you. It's going to take everything you have and you're going to have to put it on the line many times. But I think that it will give you what you put into it. I can tell you from that statement that I've gotten a lot from it and I'm working on the gold medal at Nationals.