Alp Gundes '18 Recruiting Profile

The best memory I have in my mind of rowing is also my hardest memory to remember because it is from the day of my first race, which I won, and fainted afterward. I have never given so much of my power to something, and even when my body yelled at me to stop, my mind told me to continue, because the rewards would worth all the pain. When the mentality of a rower outweighs the physical aspect, that is when history in sports is written. Holding that gold medal in my hands, I realized there and then that I would become addicted to the pain I have felt and pursue it in order to continue winning. I have learned that commitment is the number one thing that an athlete can have in order to gain the mindset of a winner and to give everything he or she has.

As a student-athlete, I often receive questions about how I divide my time between school work and training. People find it hard to grasp the idea that if you are passionate about something, you will create time on your own. It is not a necessity. I have been rowing for 3 and a half years now and my desire to become a better athlete has never stopped. Spending most of your day at the school hard, but going to practice at your club after school and spending the rest of your day in the gym is harder to do and for most people and something that they can not imagine doing, but I never thought of quitting, because in my mind I have a goal. A goal to reach my personal best and to study in the US to become a mechanical engineer. I am going to devote everything I have to be successful both in the class and on the water.