Orange Means Family
4/29/2020 4:57:00 PM | Women's Rowing
By Skyler Rivera
I just received an email from one of my coaches that invited me to a zoom call. The email had three time zones: EST for my East Coast teammates, PST for me, and Melbourne for my Australian teammates. These types of emails have become a regular in my inbox for the past month.Â
Just over a month ago, the rowing season was cancelled and my teammates and I traveled home, leaving our minds to wonder about what could have happened on the race course this year. Since then, I've had a lot of time to relax and reflect on what it means to be a part of Syracuse Women's Rowing.Â
We're a family. As a walk-on, my path to the boathouse was different. I didn't go through the recruiting process, I didn't meet with my teammates at a welcome dinner, I didn't room with a rower. But that didn't matter. I was there to put in the work and race just like everyone else. I was embraced by the coaching staff and my teammates from day one. The bond of family was first displayed when I was hit with an oar and unable to race our season opener in my first season. Coach Luke and our trainer, Sarah, called me throughout the night to make sure I was okay. Family is always there.
This season of life seemed cruel at first. Our team missed out on an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAAÂ Championships the season prior and were coming out of a brutal winter training season geared to line up at the start line in two weeks when our chance of a comeback season was erased. Hours after the NCAA announced the suspension of the spring season (and, ultimately, the cancellation) the coaching staff and my teammates transitioned from fierce competitors to family. Tears flooded the room and hugs were given at no cost. Everyone on the team and coaching staff was in contact with each other as we departed our living quarters and boarded some type of transportation on a journey home.Â
Before I boarded my flight home, a text popped up on my phone from Coach Sheila asking about my first flight and when the second was taking off. Later that week Coach Luke was in touch with the entire team with a list of apps to download so everyone could stay connected.
We could upload short videos of what we were up to on one app and text each other in another. In addition to staying connected on apps, the coaches have been individually checking in with each athlete to make sure we're doing well in school, that we're staying healthy, and staying happy. That's what family does.Â
In a call last week with Coach Claire Kuhnel, I reflected on my semester as a broadcast journalism student at home. At first I was frustrated. As a sophomore, I was just beginning to use the professional equipment Newhouse offers to students. (The equipment you see the real news people use.) But then I thought about the time I'm living in right now and how journalists like Chris Cuomo and Brooke Baldwin, who both have had coronavirus, have been broadcasting from home. In my radio broadcasting class, we were challenged to produce a radio newscast for a Syracuse-based audience with the class in different time zones. The sound of a 5 am alarm is all too familiar, but the early rising is necessary to get early morning East Coast news and interviews for a mid-day broadcast. I'm exploring different ways to use my iPhone as a camera and recorder, as well as how light affects an image. A CBS Radio correspondent zoomed into my class and gave some insight into our experience as journalists in a safer-at-home era. After class, I realized that what we were experiencing could be used for good.
In a couple hours I'll jump on a group zoom with teammates from all over the world. Many families have been using zoom to connect with loved ones during the quarantine time. Just like them, my team will join as an Orange family and share the same laughs we would at the start line. No matter where we are, we're family, and we'll be alright.Â
Â
I just received an email from one of my coaches that invited me to a zoom call. The email had three time zones: EST for my East Coast teammates, PST for me, and Melbourne for my Australian teammates. These types of emails have become a regular in my inbox for the past month.Â
Just over a month ago, the rowing season was cancelled and my teammates and I traveled home, leaving our minds to wonder about what could have happened on the race course this year. Since then, I've had a lot of time to relax and reflect on what it means to be a part of Syracuse Women's Rowing.Â
We're a family. As a walk-on, my path to the boathouse was different. I didn't go through the recruiting process, I didn't meet with my teammates at a welcome dinner, I didn't room with a rower. But that didn't matter. I was there to put in the work and race just like everyone else. I was embraced by the coaching staff and my teammates from day one. The bond of family was first displayed when I was hit with an oar and unable to race our season opener in my first season. Coach Luke and our trainer, Sarah, called me throughout the night to make sure I was okay. Family is always there.
This season of life seemed cruel at first. Our team missed out on an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAAÂ Championships the season prior and were coming out of a brutal winter training season geared to line up at the start line in two weeks when our chance of a comeback season was erased. Hours after the NCAA announced the suspension of the spring season (and, ultimately, the cancellation) the coaching staff and my teammates transitioned from fierce competitors to family. Tears flooded the room and hugs were given at no cost. Everyone on the team and coaching staff was in contact with each other as we departed our living quarters and boarded some type of transportation on a journey home.Â
Before I boarded my flight home, a text popped up on my phone from Coach Sheila asking about my first flight and when the second was taking off. Later that week Coach Luke was in touch with the entire team with a list of apps to download so everyone could stay connected.
We could upload short videos of what we were up to on one app and text each other in another. In addition to staying connected on apps, the coaches have been individually checking in with each athlete to make sure we're doing well in school, that we're staying healthy, and staying happy. That's what family does.Â
In a call last week with Coach Claire Kuhnel, I reflected on my semester as a broadcast journalism student at home. At first I was frustrated. As a sophomore, I was just beginning to use the professional equipment Newhouse offers to students. (The equipment you see the real news people use.) But then I thought about the time I'm living in right now and how journalists like Chris Cuomo and Brooke Baldwin, who both have had coronavirus, have been broadcasting from home. In my radio broadcasting class, we were challenged to produce a radio newscast for a Syracuse-based audience with the class in different time zones. The sound of a 5 am alarm is all too familiar, but the early rising is necessary to get early morning East Coast news and interviews for a mid-day broadcast. I'm exploring different ways to use my iPhone as a camera and recorder, as well as how light affects an image. A CBS Radio correspondent zoomed into my class and gave some insight into our experience as journalists in a safer-at-home era. After class, I realized that what we were experiencing could be used for good.
In a couple hours I'll jump on a group zoom with teammates from all over the world. Many families have been using zoom to connect with loved ones during the quarantine time. Just like them, my team will join as an Orange family and share the same laughs we would at the start line. No matter where we are, we're family, and we'll be alright.Â
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing
13th Annual Evening at Ten Eyck Recap
Thursday, October 09
Women’s Rowing NCAA Selection Show Reaction
Tuesday, May 20
Highlights | ACC Rowing Championships Prelims
Friday, May 17
Kamile Kralikaite: Olympic Qualifier
Wednesday, September 27
