Rowing and
Growing
Jennifer Cleary and the Women’s Quad Sculls during the heats at Rio. Photo: Rowing Australia
Olympic rower Jennifer Cleary (OGC 2011) returned to The Geelong College in March for an International Women’s Day assembly at Senior School. She reflected on her journey so far, her Olympics disappointment and the lessons she has learnt along the way. Comparing life to a rowing race, Jen shared her tips to becoming a strong, independent person.
saying “lean in” or “take a seat at the table”. The example she uses is when a man looks at a job description, he sees that he has 5/10 traits that they ask for, so he thinks, “great, I’ll apply”! A woman sees she only has 9/10 and doesn’t even bother to apply. This is an example of how women need to be more confident, we need to put ourselves in a position to win the race.
Sitting at the start line
Second 500m, trust your process, trust your plan. No self doubt here!
At the start line you are pretty much in ignorant bliss, there is no pain, maybe a bit of anxiety or fear of the unknown, but the race hasn’t started yet... so all is well. This is your childhood. You are a happy child because you don’t really know anything else, you are guided by your family or parents and every decision is made for you. (Hint – this is probably the best time of your life!)
First 500m, ie first two minutes or so of the race You start to really focus on the process, everyone is still really bunched together, you haven’t quite felt the burn in the lungs or the legs yet. This 500m brings me to my first top tip in life: you must take opportunities as they come. Put yourself out there, get in the race, put yourself in a position where you feel uncomfortable. This is where the real rewards come. The more risks you take, the more opportunities you grasp, the more advantaged and more equipped you will be to tackle challenges when life doesn’t to go your way. This is especially pertinent to women. We have to force ourselves to stand out sometimes. Sheryl Sandburg, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, came up with the
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This is a crucial 500m. Not quite halfway, so there is still a long way ahead. Things start getting real sticky here. You start to question whether you will be able to finish, you start to doubt your choice to even row in the first place, and you start worrying about the end result. This is like in secondary school. Everyone has found a bit of a niche, we have kind of formed a bit of a social network, we’ve found hobbies and sports that we like but we’re not really sure if we want to continue down this path. This is when you start having to choose VCE subjects, you start having to think about university or future jobs. It’s a stressful time, these decisions could impact the rest of your life! This brings me to top tip No.2: surround yourself with people that make you feel good. This is a really tough time. You need support around you, whether these are family or friends, make sure the relationships you form with people are mutually beneficial. And just be nice to one another – honestly, l know it sounds simple and cliché, but high school is hard; kids are mean. Be a nice person and trust me, it will 100 percent pay off when it really counts when you cross that finish line.
