Maria Ramos '23 Recruiting Profile

My second year of rowing proved to be rewarding, enlightening, and challenging at times. During the fall my first 6k was taken and I was given the opportunity for occasional training in a single. During the winter, I erged daily in preparation for a spring moving fast on the water. 

I merited a placement as 2-seat in the fastest Girls' Varsity that was a quad of mostly seniors and upperclassmen. While in this quad for several races, I developed as a stronger and fast rower and benefitted from the connections made with my boat-mates. During this time I proved myself in competing in one of the fastest Open Weight categories as a lightweight rower, while my boat came in top 5 each race. Our boat was split into two doubles and I rowed as stroke in the Girls' Lightweight Varsity Double. While in the double I learned of poise and control as stroke-seat. I too, became faster off of the foot plate, squared earlier, was quicker out of the finish. Each small technical improvement and focus made our boat faster, more connected, and ultimately made us 1st in the Manny Flick #3 Regatta and 1st place City Champions. 

As a committed rower, I am focused on bringing and attitude of growth and development, emphasizing communication, and driving my legs past the finish line to first. As a stroke, I have learned that we set the pace, not only in terms of the stroke rate, but also in attitude, perseverance, drive, and determination. The rowers behind are meant to follow, this means there is a need for a positivity and an eagerness for improvement. This position allowed me to have a leadership role and gain the trust of my teammates. I produced great work on and off of the water and in my classrooms academically while maintaining a 4.0 gpa and ranking exceptionally for standardized testing. Rowing has given me a sense of perseverance and determination and a desire to become better everyday as a rower, a teammate, a leader, a student, and a person, that translates into each aspect of my life whether that be as a club leader, diversity ambassador, intern.