Three years ago, I pushed off a dock for the first time and took my first strokes. Initially, sitting two inches off the water in a fairly narrow boat made me anxious. The movements felt unnatural, the terminology seemed as if it was a foreign language, and the boat constantly tipped from side to side. However, as I continued throughout that first season, I began to understand the various aspects of the sport, and I came to love the moments...

If someone observing my team tried to identify the captains, there’s a good chance they would only correctly identify two girls and would fail to identify the third: me. In my two years of being a captain, one of my goals has been to never become the stereotypical captain that tells others what to do. While I believe in providing direction when necessary, I much prefer to lead by being an example for my girls. Contrary to the common...

There are reasons why John F Kennedy was able to refer to Harvard as “The Michigan of the East.” Several have tried to justify the “no matter where you go, the degree is the same” argument to me. With all due respect to those individuals, I find it incredibly flawed. While the textbooks may be the same and the general content is similar across every school’s curriculum, there are several additional components that contribute to a valuable education, and...

Once you choose a school, don't automatically say no to other...