- 2024 Spotlight #3
Personal Statement
Hello, my name is Thomas Dobbelstein and I just graduated from Gymnasium in Amsterdam (age 16, as a skipped a class in high school). Currently I have an exciting gap year ahead of me, which will be dedicated to lots of competitive rowing and coaching, and a more than serious attempt to get to the World Championship in the summer of 2025.
The day I discovered rowing has had a huge im pact on my life. It has taught me so much about my physical and mental state, my condition and resilience, about who I really am and what makes me tick. I am a very passionate and committed rower with excellent academic achievements. A very tall and strong Dutchman and a real team player, who is eager to go the extra mile for the team to win. My strength is being the powerhouse in the boat and my ability to bring the team spirit together.
In the Spring of 2024 I was selected to go to the Coupe de la Jeunesse in the 8+ in Raciçe (Czech Republic), in 7 seat, being the strongest starboard rower of the crew. My preferred sideness is starboard but I am also capable on rowing port, however, in the coming pre-season I will mainly be focussing on sculling in the 1x and combining it with the 2- and 4-. My aspirations for 2025 are to win the M2x and the M4x or M8+ under19 in the Dutch National Championships and have a shot of going to the World Champs in the summer of 2025.
In terms of my academic aspirations I am searching for universities that offer an undergraduate program in Astrophysics.
