thedrifter
05-30-09, 05:09 AM
Sports
Semper Eli: Yale crew captain competing for national title, joining Marines
Saturday, May 30, 2009
By David Borges, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — There was never any one watershed event that clinched Christina Person’s decision to someday join the military.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 inspired her to major in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at Yale. But the dream of serving her country in some capacity had been hatched long before and gradually fostered over the years — despite the protestations of her parents.
Person’s father, Dave, had served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, and insisted that the military would stifle her dreams.
“Then,” Christina recalls, “my dad and I will sit around and watch the History Channel for hours and I’ll think, ‘There’s clearly something more here.’”
And so, in September, while the rest of her fellow Yale graduates are heading off into careers in law, business, medicine, etc., Person will be in Quantico, Va., learning the art of infantry and combined arms warfare and becoming a Marine. After six months of training, she’ll get assigned to a military occupational specialty, then head out for about four more months of training.
Her parents would still prefer she do something else, but at the end of the day, they’ll support her. Her classmates say things like, “Don’t get hurt. Don’t get shot.” Most of them are still miffed as to why Person is going through with this.
“It’s the opportunity to impact the world in such a way,” she’ll respond, “and the thought of doing it in such an adventurous way.”
But first things first.
This weekend, Person will be on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., sitting in the No. 3 seat of the Yale women’s crew team’s varsity eight boat and trying to lead the Bulldogs to a national championship. It’s the eighth straight season that Yale — which won the vaunted Eastern Sprints two weeks ago — has qualified for the NCAA championships. The varsity eight boat has won the national title the past two years, but Yale has yet to win a team title during this run, its best finish a second in 2004.
This year’s team is focused — though hardly obsessed — with breaking through for an NCAA team title.
“I think we have all the strengths — the senior leadership, the experience, strong athletes, good performances leading up to the championship,” said Will Porter, in his 10th season as Yale’s head coach. “It really comes down to the event. Like in any other sport, there are probably five to seven teams that can win it. It’s how it plays out over the course of those three days.”
Added Person, the team’s captain: “We’ve tried not to think about winning, because if you do that, you can spin out of control. We’ll just focus on being a strong, competitive program. We find the people who challenge us the most are not necessarily the other schools we compete against. It ends up being our own teammates.”
And few college athletes are up for a challenge more than Christina Person.
Making This a Better Country
Growing up in Pike Road, Ala., Person’s passion was swimming. She was recruited as a swimmer by Yale and competed in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events as a freshman. Person had come to know some members of the women’s crew, and that January, noting Person’s height (5 feet 10), big quads and broad shoulders, they hinted that she’d make a great rower.
On one day off from swimming, Person took in a crew practice.
“It turned out to be the most fun workout I’ve done,” she recalled.
Person finished up her swimming season, went down to Florida with the crew team on spring break and took her first-ever stroke.
“She was strong,” Porter recalled, “but technically, she was awkward.”
But Person was a quick study. She competed on the novice team the rest of the year and continued her development as a sophomore. By her junior year, Person was on the varsity eight boat.
“It was hard for me to leave swimming because I had been doing it for so long,” Person said. “Even my freshman year, I was performing better than I ever had in my life. I didn’t know if I had maxed out at swimming, and at the same time, I just felt drawn to the crew team. It may not have been love for the sport at first, it was just the atmosphere I felt. The coaches were so vibrant, they made me excited about it. My class was so tight-knit, even then, I felt, how could I pass this up? As I became better and better at rowing, it became more of a passion. Now, it’s my full-time hobby.”
But there was another passion that Person had to pursue.
She had thought about enlisting in the Marines in high school, but her parents insisted she go to college, and when Yale came calling, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“But I could never get away from that itch,” she said.
Just a few weeks into her freshman year, Person saw a flyer in the Yale dining hall advertising Officer Candidates School, where she could get commissioned as an officer. It sounded perfect, as it would appease her parents with no commitment to continuing her military career. Person was prepared to head off to OCS after her freshman year, but coming off an injury, she put it off until this past summer. Person completed the 10-week program in Quantico last August.
Porter, who is in his 12th year with the Bulldogs’ program, has had two other athletes go into the military, but both were ROTC candidates.
“This is the first time I’ve had somebody make the decision halfway through their Yale career,” Porter said. “I understand her reasons completely for doing it. She’s a passionate person who wants to be a part of making this a better country. She feels responsible to actively have her hands on whatever conflicts in the world are in her time.”
Person has also expressed her belief that not enough Ivy League students are in direct leadership positions in the military. Certainly, she’s gotten a mixed reaction on campus (“they’re both impressed with it and don’t know what to do with it,” she said), but ultimately she is completely at peace with her decision.
Person would like to carve out a military career. She wants to get her masters in business at Harvard, get a Ph.D. at a war college, then climb through the ranks however she can. Her ideal job, she said, would be an infantry officer. However, at this time, women aren’t allowed in combat jobs.
“That’s my dream,” she said. “Whether it happens is sort of up to Congress.”
Person will remain competitive in athletics, too. She hopes to join a rowing club team, compete in triathlons, and even still harbors dreams of being an Olympic swimmer. In June, she’ll head out to the Henley Women’s Regatta in London, then back to the Royal Henley Regatta a month later.
Then in September, Christina Person will head down to Quantico, Va., to begin doing her part in making this a better country.
David Borges can be reached at dborges@nhregister.com.
Ellie
Semper Eli: Yale crew captain competing for national title, joining Marines
Saturday, May 30, 2009
By David Borges, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — There was never any one watershed event that clinched Christina Person’s decision to someday join the military.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 inspired her to major in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at Yale. But the dream of serving her country in some capacity had been hatched long before and gradually fostered over the years — despite the protestations of her parents.
Person’s father, Dave, had served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, and insisted that the military would stifle her dreams.
“Then,” Christina recalls, “my dad and I will sit around and watch the History Channel for hours and I’ll think, ‘There’s clearly something more here.’”
And so, in September, while the rest of her fellow Yale graduates are heading off into careers in law, business, medicine, etc., Person will be in Quantico, Va., learning the art of infantry and combined arms warfare and becoming a Marine. After six months of training, she’ll get assigned to a military occupational specialty, then head out for about four more months of training.
Her parents would still prefer she do something else, but at the end of the day, they’ll support her. Her classmates say things like, “Don’t get hurt. Don’t get shot.” Most of them are still miffed as to why Person is going through with this.
“It’s the opportunity to impact the world in such a way,” she’ll respond, “and the thought of doing it in such an adventurous way.”
But first things first.
This weekend, Person will be on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., sitting in the No. 3 seat of the Yale women’s crew team’s varsity eight boat and trying to lead the Bulldogs to a national championship. It’s the eighth straight season that Yale — which won the vaunted Eastern Sprints two weeks ago — has qualified for the NCAA championships. The varsity eight boat has won the national title the past two years, but Yale has yet to win a team title during this run, its best finish a second in 2004.
This year’s team is focused — though hardly obsessed — with breaking through for an NCAA team title.
“I think we have all the strengths — the senior leadership, the experience, strong athletes, good performances leading up to the championship,” said Will Porter, in his 10th season as Yale’s head coach. “It really comes down to the event. Like in any other sport, there are probably five to seven teams that can win it. It’s how it plays out over the course of those three days.”
Added Person, the team’s captain: “We’ve tried not to think about winning, because if you do that, you can spin out of control. We’ll just focus on being a strong, competitive program. We find the people who challenge us the most are not necessarily the other schools we compete against. It ends up being our own teammates.”
And few college athletes are up for a challenge more than Christina Person.
Making This a Better Country
Growing up in Pike Road, Ala., Person’s passion was swimming. She was recruited as a swimmer by Yale and competed in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events as a freshman. Person had come to know some members of the women’s crew, and that January, noting Person’s height (5 feet 10), big quads and broad shoulders, they hinted that she’d make a great rower.
On one day off from swimming, Person took in a crew practice.
“It turned out to be the most fun workout I’ve done,” she recalled.
Person finished up her swimming season, went down to Florida with the crew team on spring break and took her first-ever stroke.
“She was strong,” Porter recalled, “but technically, she was awkward.”
But Person was a quick study. She competed on the novice team the rest of the year and continued her development as a sophomore. By her junior year, Person was on the varsity eight boat.
“It was hard for me to leave swimming because I had been doing it for so long,” Person said. “Even my freshman year, I was performing better than I ever had in my life. I didn’t know if I had maxed out at swimming, and at the same time, I just felt drawn to the crew team. It may not have been love for the sport at first, it was just the atmosphere I felt. The coaches were so vibrant, they made me excited about it. My class was so tight-knit, even then, I felt, how could I pass this up? As I became better and better at rowing, it became more of a passion. Now, it’s my full-time hobby.”
But there was another passion that Person had to pursue.
She had thought about enlisting in the Marines in high school, but her parents insisted she go to college, and when Yale came calling, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“But I could never get away from that itch,” she said.
Just a few weeks into her freshman year, Person saw a flyer in the Yale dining hall advertising Officer Candidates School, where she could get commissioned as an officer. It sounded perfect, as it would appease her parents with no commitment to continuing her military career. Person was prepared to head off to OCS after her freshman year, but coming off an injury, she put it off until this past summer. Person completed the 10-week program in Quantico last August.
Porter, who is in his 12th year with the Bulldogs’ program, has had two other athletes go into the military, but both were ROTC candidates.
“This is the first time I’ve had somebody make the decision halfway through their Yale career,” Porter said. “I understand her reasons completely for doing it. She’s a passionate person who wants to be a part of making this a better country. She feels responsible to actively have her hands on whatever conflicts in the world are in her time.”
Person has also expressed her belief that not enough Ivy League students are in direct leadership positions in the military. Certainly, she’s gotten a mixed reaction on campus (“they’re both impressed with it and don’t know what to do with it,” she said), but ultimately she is completely at peace with her decision.
Person would like to carve out a military career. She wants to get her masters in business at Harvard, get a Ph.D. at a war college, then climb through the ranks however she can. Her ideal job, she said, would be an infantry officer. However, at this time, women aren’t allowed in combat jobs.
“That’s my dream,” she said. “Whether it happens is sort of up to Congress.”
Person will remain competitive in athletics, too. She hopes to join a rowing club team, compete in triathlons, and even still harbors dreams of being an Olympic swimmer. In June, she’ll head out to the Henley Women’s Regatta in London, then back to the Royal Henley Regatta a month later.
Then in September, Christina Person will head down to Quantico, Va., to begin doing her part in making this a better country.
David Borges can be reached at dborges@nhregister.com.
Ellie