Alison Whitty has been a four-year member of Miami rowing’s Varsity 8. The St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, native will compete for the Canes at the ACC Championships next weekend, but she will walk across the stage at graduation this week to wrap up her academic career at UM.
This summer I plan on returning home to coach Junior Women’s rowing at Ridley Graduate Boat Club. I also plan on taking a little break before I return to the classroom and water at Brock University this fall where I will be earning a certification in Teacher Education and will also have the opportunity to continue rowing at a collegiate level.
Being part of the Hurricanes rowing team was a substantial and pivotal chapter of my life. With great achievements and challenges, this team has overcome adversity together. Moving away from home four years ago was one of the hardest things for me to overcome. Leaving my friends and family behind, moving to a different country and joining a team who I had only met on my official visit was terrifying and intimidating. But the team took me in, showed me the ropes and I am so lucky to have met some of my lifelong friends.
In four years at Miami, I have been able to accomplish all of my goals both academically and athletically. Miami pushed and tested my drive to be the best student-athlete I could be over my four years. It also allowed me to explore and try new things like my love for Cuban food and, most importantly, Cuban coffee. It also helped me realize that time flies. It feels like yesterday I was just arriving as a freshman and now I graduating and starting the next chapter.
One of my best memories of my time at Miami was winning Cal Cup at San Diego Crew Classic both freshman and senior year. Winning is always a great feeling, but I think my most memorable part of those races were the girls that I did it with. We wouldn’t have won if we didn’t have each other and that’s what I cherish the most.
A class/professor at Miami that I really enjoyed was Sign Language with Professor Kristen Schwartz. This class allowed me to learn how to communicate with the hearing impaired community. We had the opportunity to have actual conversations with someone who had lost their hearing at a young age and having the ability to communicate with them was one of the most rewarding feelings.
Coach Dave Sanderson impacted me by teaching me that winning isn’t just handed to you. It is a process and hard work, passion and persistence will pay off. He always says “every practice is like putting money in the bank and when championship season rolls around we have to cash in all the miles and hours we have put behind the blade to uncork our best piece”. He has also taught me about being adaptable to change, whether it’s during practice, race day or with academics. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and you have to be ready to go back to the drawing board to ensure you get the outcome you want.
In five years, I hope to be a teacher and a rowing coach. Throughout high school, I was grateful to have powerful and positive role models to encourage me every day. I aspire to be an influential person in younger students’ lives and hopefully will be able to help guide them toward a happier and healthier lifestyle whether through sport or other activities.
My favorite part of being a Hurricane is being part of a unique and diverse family. People would do anything to be part of our family. The legacy and the love people have for The U is unmatched. Any time we travel, fans are throwing up the []_[] and wishing us luck. I am proud to have the []_[] on my back when I am racing down the course.
What I’ll miss most about the University of Miami is the friendships I have made, the mist from the Lake Osceola fountain, Cuban Coffee and watching the dolphins and South Florida sun rise every morning at practice.
Being a Hurricane has helped me mature into an independent individual. Miami helped me recognized that it is important to be well rounded, to embrace the student part and the athlete part of being a student-athlete, in the classroom, on the water and in the community. Academically, I was able to take advantage of office hours, tutoring sessions and any other resources I was given to help me achieve my academic goals. On the water, I was able to develop qualities I believe that have made me become a better leader and oarswomen. And in the community, being part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, I was able to enhance by knowledge on life beyond sport and involve myself in the community on and off the campus.