Benjamin Marino I am a sophomore Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering I am am experienced Rower, I have been rowing for just under 4 years at this point I started rowing because my mother and grandfather both rowed, and I had gotten bored with soccer, and decided wanted to try something new. My senior year of highschool, I went to head of the Charles, and rowing down that course is by far one of my favorite memories. It is an insane course and a very enjoyable challenge. A close second is probably our race in rochester last fall where we got stuck for several hours after our skeg was damaged and we were unable to finish the race. Spending time with the team after we were stranded in this side canal why we waited for us to be able to row down the course without being hit by other boats was a nice change of pace from the pace usually held in the boat. I have learned how effective a good workout is every morning for the mind, especially with a heavy workload. My favorite thing about rowing is probably the coordination. Being able to so effectively work together with 7 other people is not something I have ever experienced outside of rowing, and is a thrill every time it happens. What keeps me coming back? Well obviously something forcing you to workout regularly is nice, but having a group of people you can pretty much just insert yourself with and have common experiences and activities and common goals is by far the most important part of rowing