Carol Hee-Seagle, a graduate student in the Department of Marine Sciences, founded "If You Let Me Row" in 1997 to teach confidence, strength, commitment and teamwork through free rowing lessons.
"I've enjoyed rowing, and it can be really good for some people," Hee-Seagle said. "Everything in rowing is so huge - the oars are 16 feet long and the boat is 60 feet long. To control that has to make you feel strong."
Hee-Seagle said her friend, Jen Obernier, a graduate student in the pharmacy department, was critical in the initial stages of organization. "She knew a lot more about rowing than I did," Hee-Seagle said. "I was the idea person, and she was the practical one. Jen even did the coaching the first year."
First held in 1998, the program offered rowing lessons to eight students during the first two weeks of August. Getting participants for the first sessions proved to be a challenge, however.
Hee-Seagle and Obernier learned this the hard way while trying to recruit students from the teen center at the post office and Hargraves Center in Carrboro. "It was really difficult getting girls at first," Hee-Seagle said. "This year, getting the (Northeast Baptist Church in Durham) involved has helped."
The second session was planned for last summer but was postponed until Fall Break because of bad weather.
Six students attended the Fall Break sessions, which were taught by members of The Masters Crew, the graduate crew club and three undergraduate rowers. The high school students started the morning by learning the basics. Lunch provided time to bond over the challenges all the girls were facing together.
Hee-Seagle said the afternoon brought improvement in technique and increased enthusiasm. By the end of the session, the girls were rowing together in one boat.
"The Saturday that we had the camp was the happiest day next to my wedding," Hee-Seagle said. "(The girls) looked so nervous at first, but by the end they were laughing and rowing together."
