Senior Katie Kelleher hails from Hingham, Massachusetts. Originally looking for a big school in a warm climate, Kelleher unexpectedly fell in love with Colgate and its rowing program when she stopped by on her way to visit other schools in the neighboring area.

Rowing has been a huge part of Kelleher’s life since 7th grade, and she has rowed at Colgate since freshman year. This year, she is the team captain. She loves the challenging yet rewarding aspect of rowing and values how the team prioritizes academics. 

“Being a part of something that is totally bigger than myself is kind of grounding and something I’m going to miss after graduation,” Kelleher said. “All of my best and also worst memories have been with this team.” 

Kelleher believes rowing has been her most valuable experience at Colgate.

“Waking up at 5:30 a.m. to join 20 other women that are doing the same thing and going towards the same goal, there’s just something cool about that,” Kelleher said.

Although rowing takes up a lot of her time, Kelleher still manages to find ways to pursue other interests. Kelleher is an officer of Women in Computer Science, meditates in the Chapel House and enjoys cooking and cycling.

When she isn’t rowing or participating in her other extracurriculars, Kelleher is working towards her physics and computer science double major. She initially started physics here because she enjoyed it in high school, but quickly found that she had a passion for it.

“I fell in love with [physics] second semester when I really got to know the program and how close knit everyone was,” Kelleher said. 

Kelleher’s teammate introduced her to associate professor of computer science Joel Sommers, whom she ended up taking her first computer science class with freshman year. She loved his teaching style and class so much that she decided to continue her studies with computer science. Although Professor Sommers was abroad Kelleher’s sophomore and junior years, she is thrilled to be able to take a class with him again, bringing her experience with computer science full circle. 

As she prepares to leave Colgate, Kelleher offers some advice to Colgate students. “I know it’s cliche, but try everything you can and that you wouldn’t normally try… It goes by fast,” she said.

Contact Sasha Balasanov at [email protected].