The dedication of these students and their parents is remarkable while our current administration denigrates immigrant families at every turn. This is the face and future of America!
It is difficult reading the paper these days with so many selfish, self indulgent people vying for attention. The story about Sebastiana was so refreshing and restored one's faith in people.
Here was a young woman , who at great personal sacrifice, committed herself to one of the most challenging sports there is to improve her chances to go to college so she could better the lives of her family. How special. She took the responsibility on herself In a culture where seeking and demanding things from others has become the norm.
How fitting that she chose crew, a sport where there can be no heroes. No one individual shoots the final basket or scores the final touchdown. To succeed, each oarsman has to be hard working and self sacrificing. The crew wins together or it fails.
Bravo Sebastiana and your fellow rowers. I have no doubt you will go on to great success in life. Thanks for setting a fine example.
2
If she cannot swim than why is she on a rowboat??!! She should learn than earn.
The article states that she passed her swim test on the third try. Such a moving story, too.
4
Why should rowing get you into college, or get you a scholarship? What does it have to do with education?
She should be reading books, serious and difficult adult books.
Why would she not be able to row and also read books now and in the future when she attends college? We have seen sports as an avenue into college for many years, although females are typically left out.
5
Rowing is a wonderful sport.
I went to the best rowing school in the world( with an old boy in every NZ rowing Olympic team since the 1960s)
Teaches coordination and team work.
Women are often good at it with better coordination.
When that shell lifts and skims over the water there is no
better feeling.
5
What an amazing story! All I can think about is how this young woman deserves all the opportunities that may come her way for really doing the hard work necessary to make the most of her talent in spite of the real obstacles facing her and her family. This is a shining light versus the wealthy families of privilege famous for staging their children in fake photos and buying their way into the colleges of their choice. What a contrast. Keep up the good work!
8
Very happy for Ms. Lopez, wish her all the best with her rowing & future endeavors !!
Some facts seem to be missing in this article. I ran into Row NY at the flushing Meadow Lake Boat House while looking into the sailing that is offered on the Meadow Lake. NY Row refer me to their website for youth programs. $1,500 for a two week program that’s only 3 hours a day oar $50 an hour is pricey. Have to admit I earn more the $30K a year. The pictures on the website are nice, but the average house hold income in the town of Riverdale is in excess of $100K.
2
Kudos to Row New York and Lopez. As a former oarsman, I can attest that there is nothing like being in a boat with 8 others, knowing that quitting or even stopping is simply not an option. Rowing prepares you for the inevitable hardships in life that require endurance, teamwork and grit. Lopez will go far.
12
What a great story! Hurrah to Row- sp glad you are out there making a difference. What a great program for these young women who are learning so much!
3
Brava Lopez! A wonderful, encouraging story! Thank you!
Humanity needs women, people of color and minorities who embrace those parts of the European cultural legacy that particularly speak to them. If America, or the world, devolves into cultural teams (blacks play basketball, whites cross-country ski), we lose a huge part of our global human culture heritage.
We white people have the most to lose, but so does everyone else. Europe is a small place, and Europeans, even including their colonial diaspora, are a small part of the global population. Yet Europe, through not virtue but the wildly improbable luck of stumbling into the Renaissance and then the Enlightenment, back to back, has made an out-sized contribution to humanity. We accept it without comment in medicine and civil engineering; even angry minority activists are happy to be enjoy the benefits of both without comment, as is their right: European contributions are human contributions, like African dance or Japanese haiku, freely available for the taking. The more incidental parts of European culture, like sculling on a quiet river in the early morning, are at risk, and if they do not attract a wider audience, they are doomed.
The sun is setting on European domination, as it should and must. We white people should be thrilled to see what was once our culture appropriated and adopted as widely as possible by the world, as we work to find our place in it as our privilege disappears and the torch passes to others.
3
@NLG Rowing is doomed? Not in my experience living in New England. My daughter rowed on the Saugatuck River while attending a public high school in Connecticut, and metro Providence RI has two rowing clubs on the Seekonk River serving high schoolers, baby boomers, generation X and senior citizens. At the end of the season, these clubs send teams to The Head Of The Charles Regatta, a race held on the October each year on the Charles River in Boston. It is the largest 2-day regatta in the world, with 11,000 athletes rowing in over 1,900 boats in 61 events.
1
This young woman and her awesome family's story managed to nudge free a feeling of hope in my heart. If I had the financial means, I'd pay her tuition bill myself. I hope somebody with those means feels the same way and looks into it.
7
"They’re not often the top contenders, but winning isn’t the point."....Winning isn't important; striving to win is everything.
13
As a former division 1 collegiate rower I applaud all efforts to diversify the sport! It is much needed!!! Rowing taught me more about life than the 4 degrees that I’ve attained. It showed me what true discipline is, to work past pain, that solidarity and camaraderie are invaluable assets in life, and that no challenge is insurmountable. My boat still gets together several times a year and I graduated in 1996. Our boat was unusual in that it was very diverse representing the Philippines, Mexico, China, Ireland, Italy and more. Nearly all of us were first or second generation Americans and our coach was Polish. It made for a rich experience for all of us and I only hope that more young women from all backgrounds flock to the sport and get the funding and recognition that they deserve.
27
Wow, I did not know about this program, but it's awesome. Rowing helps with college admissions, teaches discipline, and shows young kids what they can push through.
What a creative program.
10
Sebastiana seems like a dedicated student and I wish her the best. But why do colleges emphasize some niche sport like rowing as to whether she gets a scholarship or not?
3
@Dan There is a demand for women rowers in elite colleges, particularly ones with large football programs. The need to balance out athletic spending between men and women drives this demand (for reference, a new boat costs roughly $60,000).
7
@Chris McDonough
There shouldn't be a demand for women rowers, or for men rowers. Rowing a boat is a silly self-indulgence that has nothing to do with education. Sure, it's fun, and makes one feel good afterward. But that's not what college should be about.