Preserving The Stanford Dream

Stanford Lightweight Rowing brought a dream true for me. As a young woman, I found a community that embodied athletic excellence and taught me true resilience. When I joined the lightweight rowing team, I was overjoyed to be surrounded by fellow women who performed with the utmost diligence, respect, and tenacity, both in the classroom and the water. The team has shaped me to always perform to the best of my ability. Through our shared experience, I have fostered the deepest bonds of trust and sisterhood between myself and my teammates. I have grown tremendously, lifted up by the other women around me. As a senior on the team, I wish to preserve that joy and sistership for our younger athletes, so that they too can challenge themselves and grow as I have. This team has stood for a decade as a powerhouse in women's lightweight rowing. We should not be given an undignified end by being abandoned by the very university we represent.

- Claire Smythe, Class of 2021