Culture and support helped women’s rower Stow become a Remington Scholar
August 27, 2020 | Women's Rowing
Women’s rower boasts UW’s highest female grade-point average among athletics' graduates
MADISON, Wis. – Those early rowing mornings on Lake Mendota with an entire team's support paid off for UW women's rower Makayla Stow, who knew since she was "10 or 12-years-old" that she wanted to be an actuary.
The Eau Claire native, with her math interest and family tradition of actuarial work, may have had the success in her anyway, but she says "there was academic support from tutors and our coaches really prioritized the student part of student-athlete. Team culture was really focused on academics. Those all really helped make it a little easier, or make it feel a little bit easier."
Stow is Wisconsin's 2020 female Remington Scholar, awarded to the graduating athletic department senior with the highest grade point average. She's also the fifth women's rower to win the award since rower Gina Utrie won the inaugural honor in 1996. In total, 19 of the 50 all-time winners come from UW's three rowing programs (women's, women's lightweight, men).
It comes with a $1,000 postgraduate scholarship for those who continue schooling. Swimmer Eric Geunes won UW's male honor.
"Having teammates who were going through a lot of the same stuff, it helped to have them there to talk to when you are in those really stressful weeks and you have a lot of homework or have major events going on with rowing," Stow said. "Even in high school I did a lot of sports and that was a way to distract yourself from school work. Do something else, but also have other people there so you are kind of hanging out with them but also doing something productive at the same time."
Stow is part of a group who will forever be remembered in college athletics' annals -- she expected to compete for her final season this past spring as a senior with her UW teammates, but it was taken away with the arrival of the coronavirus.
"Makayla is the epitome of what a student-athlete in Olympic sports looks like," women's rowing coach Bebe Bryans said. "She didn't let one thing define her, although she was a leader for the Badgers on the water and would have been in an NCAA boat again this season, given the opportunity.
"She was a brilliant student in a challenging major, and she was also a caring teammate and fierce competitor. She is one of the most humble people I have worked with, and she will be successful in life because of what she brought to Wisconsin and what she learned from her team and her professors while she was here."
Prior to graduation, Stow accepted a position with Principal Financial Group and has been working with them since June. She is studying and taking exams toward earning her Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) accreditation.
Compared to her time at Wisconsin "it almost feels a little bit easier," Stow said.
During her time with rowing, a typical day included 5 a.m. wakeup then practice. The rest of the day included a rotation of classes, homework, eating and sometimes more rowing practice. An early bed time was also key.
"[Wisconsin] definitely helped prepare me for the real world, especially in the role that I am in working full time and studying for the actuarial professional exams. I still get up early morning, get my workout in right away, work for eight hours. Sometimes I'll only be working for six hours and studying for two hours during company time. Eat dinner, then study for another five hours after dinner. It is kind of similar to my time at Wisconsin but a little less stressful."
A hockey player, track and field athlete and volleyball player in high school, Stow heard some about UW's rowing program from her father, an athletic trainer who knew one of UW's athletic trainers. Originally she decided it wasn't for her, but once she got to school and found out her roommate was going to give it a try, Stow followed along and the rest is history.
"It is going to be hard," Stow said when prompted for some advice to her freshman self. "There will be good days and bad days, but it is definitely worth it, especially rowing. Going out for the team was one of the best decisions I ever made. It helped me academically, it helped me in my career now. Keep working hard and doing the things that you love and it will pay off in the long run.
"Rowing is a sport that you don't necessarily see the benefit from right away – it takes a lot of time and repetition to get faster and see the results of your work. That is something that is applicable in everyday life in academics, in studying for my actuarial exams and projects that I'm doing at work."
REMINGTON SCHOLARS (ROWING)
2020
Makayla Stow, Women's Rowing
2014
Charles Clapp IV, Men's Rowing
2013
Cody Risser, Men's Rowing
2012
Sara Watermolen, Women's Rowing
James Oldeschulte, Men's Rowing
2010
Kaela Erickson, Women's Lightweight Rowing
2009
Kristi Johnson, Women's Rowing
Daniel Stevens, Men's Rowing
2008
Adam Barhamand, Men's Rowing
2005
Leah Gordon, Women's Rowing
Michael Triebwasser, Men's Rowing
2003
Ryan Kipp, Men's Rowing
2002
Nicholas Kitowski, Men's Rowing
1999
Mark Danahy, Men's Rowing
1996
Gina Utrie, Women's Rowing
The Eau Claire native, with her math interest and family tradition of actuarial work, may have had the success in her anyway, but she says "there was academic support from tutors and our coaches really prioritized the student part of student-athlete. Team culture was really focused on academics. Those all really helped make it a little easier, or make it feel a little bit easier."
Stow is Wisconsin's 2020 female Remington Scholar, awarded to the graduating athletic department senior with the highest grade point average. She's also the fifth women's rower to win the award since rower Gina Utrie won the inaugural honor in 1996. In total, 19 of the 50 all-time winners come from UW's three rowing programs (women's, women's lightweight, men).
It comes with a $1,000 postgraduate scholarship for those who continue schooling. Swimmer Eric Geunes won UW's male honor.
"Having teammates who were going through a lot of the same stuff, it helped to have them there to talk to when you are in those really stressful weeks and you have a lot of homework or have major events going on with rowing," Stow said. "Even in high school I did a lot of sports and that was a way to distract yourself from school work. Do something else, but also have other people there so you are kind of hanging out with them but also doing something productive at the same time."
Stow is part of a group who will forever be remembered in college athletics' annals -- she expected to compete for her final season this past spring as a senior with her UW teammates, but it was taken away with the arrival of the coronavirus.
"Makayla is the epitome of what a student-athlete in Olympic sports looks like," women's rowing coach Bebe Bryans said. "She didn't let one thing define her, although she was a leader for the Badgers on the water and would have been in an NCAA boat again this season, given the opportunity.
"She was a brilliant student in a challenging major, and she was also a caring teammate and fierce competitor. She is one of the most humble people I have worked with, and she will be successful in life because of what she brought to Wisconsin and what she learned from her team and her professors while she was here."
View this post on InstagramCongrats to Makayla Stow, UW's female Remington Scholar. 👏👏 That mean's she had athletic department's highest GPA among this year's graduates. . "Having teammates who were going through a lot of the same stuff, it helped to have them there to talk to when you are in those really stressful weeks when you have a lot of homework or have major events going on with rowing," . "Going out for the team was one of the best decisions I ever made. It helped me academically, it helped me in my career now. Keep working hard and doing the things that you love and it will pay off in the long run."
Prior to graduation, Stow accepted a position with Principal Financial Group and has been working with them since June. She is studying and taking exams toward earning her Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) accreditation.
Compared to her time at Wisconsin "it almost feels a little bit easier," Stow said.
During her time with rowing, a typical day included 5 a.m. wakeup then practice. The rest of the day included a rotation of classes, homework, eating and sometimes more rowing practice. An early bed time was also key.
"[Wisconsin] definitely helped prepare me for the real world, especially in the role that I am in working full time and studying for the actuarial professional exams. I still get up early morning, get my workout in right away, work for eight hours. Sometimes I'll only be working for six hours and studying for two hours during company time. Eat dinner, then study for another five hours after dinner. It is kind of similar to my time at Wisconsin but a little less stressful."
A hockey player, track and field athlete and volleyball player in high school, Stow heard some about UW's rowing program from her father, an athletic trainer who knew one of UW's athletic trainers. Originally she decided it wasn't for her, but once she got to school and found out her roommate was going to give it a try, Stow followed along and the rest is history.
"It is going to be hard," Stow said when prompted for some advice to her freshman self. "There will be good days and bad days, but it is definitely worth it, especially rowing. Going out for the team was one of the best decisions I ever made. It helped me academically, it helped me in my career now. Keep working hard and doing the things that you love and it will pay off in the long run.
"Rowing is a sport that you don't necessarily see the benefit from right away – it takes a lot of time and repetition to get faster and see the results of your work. That is something that is applicable in everyday life in academics, in studying for my actuarial exams and projects that I'm doing at work."
REMINGTON SCHOLARS (ROWING)
2020
Makayla Stow, Women's Rowing
2014
Charles Clapp IV, Men's Rowing
2013
Cody Risser, Men's Rowing
2012
Sara Watermolen, Women's Rowing
James Oldeschulte, Men's Rowing
2010
Kaela Erickson, Women's Lightweight Rowing
2009
Kristi Johnson, Women's Rowing
Daniel Stevens, Men's Rowing
2008
Adam Barhamand, Men's Rowing
2005
Leah Gordon, Women's Rowing
Michael Triebwasser, Men's Rowing
2003
Ryan Kipp, Men's Rowing
2002
Nicholas Kitowski, Men's Rowing
1999
Mark Danahy, Men's Rowing
1996
Gina Utrie, Women's Rowing
Players Mentioned
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