Plant High Rowing Alumni

Conventional wisdom dictates that athletics and academics mix as well as oil and water. However, the jury is still out on this debate – and the lives of Plant rowers seem to contradict conventional wisdom.

Intense athletics like rowing add some challenges to academic study. However, the benefits of a balanced academic and athletic life far outweigh these challenges. Rowing develops discipline, structure, perseverance and time management. Student-athletes integrate these virtues of rowing into their academic life – to great effect. Plant rowers accomplish more academically than most Plant students as evidenced year over year by Plant High sports team gradepoint averages. Rowers are consistently ranked at the top of their class and are leaders in other academic and extracurricular groups. Of 16 Senior Varsity rowers in 2009, 12 were members of the National Honor Society.

Plant boasts that 97% of its graduates go on to higher learning. In the last four years, 100% of all Crew graduating seniors went to college – both at excellent state universities and exceptional private institutions, including many Ivy League schools. Numerous Plant High rowers are currently rowing in college programs, too. A shortened, but impressive, list of where Plant rowers are currently studying or have recently attended includes:

• Brown
• Columbia
• Cornell
• Davidson
• Florida
• Georgetown
• Harvard
• Princeton
• South Florida
• Texas
• Virginia
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest
• Williams College

PHRA helps students develop into adults of substance and depth by enabling students to experience a life of academic and athletic balance. Plant rowers are academically skilled and intellectually thoughtful individuals. This is most certainly because of the talents of these student-athletes, but is also a result of the lessons learned through a life that balances academics and athletics.