Crew Opens Options: Helen Beckner '03

Helen Beckner '03 graduated in May 2013 from the University of Wisconsin with "Distinctive Scholastic Achievement" and was initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. After graduating from high school in 2009, she was recruited to row with the Wisconsin lightweight women's crew.

While Helen was rowing with the varsity eight crew, it won the lightweight women's event at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston twice, the women's Eastern Sprints regatta, and a bronze medal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.

She has also competed as an elite sculler for the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, participating in crews that won lightweight and open weight women's events at the US Rowing Boat Club National Championship regatta and at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherine's, Ontario.

Her experience as an athlete has been a springboard for exploring several other interests, including Spanish language and international studies. As she puts it, "Athletics has given me the confidence and perseverance to try anything. I'm willing and able to handle any challenge or problem, and I'm physically, intellectually, and culturally flexible. I'm now comfortable stepping into new environments." This is reflected in her decision last fall to intern with the National Defense University's Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, and her decision to teach English in the Dominican Republic.

Now that she has graduated from Wisconsin, Helen has been nominated to serve in the Peace Corps and requested that her assignment be in a Central or South American country. Through it all, Helen credits rowing with bringing out her best self and she feels strongly that athletics can do the same for other students—particularly if they find the sport that's right for them.

Helen is now transitioning from her rigorous competitive schedule and enjoying rowing with the Potomac Boat Club. She laughs that her body still wakes up to train before 6:00 am. But even though she sometimes has to force herself back to sleep, the changes that rowing has brought to her life have all been worth it.