SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis Senior Monah Javidan will attend Harvard University and will row for the school. She is one of 10 student-athletes from the Class of 2020 to make a collegiate this spring and 19 student-athletes overall from the class.
She participated in a Q&A with GoTroubies.com about her commitment.
What are your thoughts about attending Harvard and rowing for their program?
"I am really excited to attend Harvard and feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be surrounded by a large community of bright individuals. I think that St. Francis has definitely prepared me for the level of academic rigor that I'll be immersed in at Harvard and has taught me how to manage my time as a student athlete. I'm most eager to be a part of the rowing community as a rower for Radcliffe, knowing the immense amount of history and depth within the team."
What attracted you to the Harvard crew program?
"The greatest deciding factor for me in committing to row for Radcliffe was the team culture. The girls are always positive and radiate a very welcoming energy. They have a clear passion for rowing and are serious about their academics which I feel is a perfect environment for me. The coaching staff is also a large part of why I chose to row for Radcliffe. Their relationships with the athletes is very unique in that the girls are treated with great respect and are held to a high standard while also being able to have fun."
How did you get into the sport and what do you love about it?
"I was first introduced to rowing in the fall of my freshman year with encouragement from my brother who had a few friends who were rowers in college. The transition to rowing from competitive swimming was not very difficult in that I was already used to having practice six days a week and managing my schoolwork around practice hours. What I loved the most initially about rowing that separated it from any sport I had done before was the duality between the individual and the team. Rowing is a sport that heavily relies on individual strength and determination, but also cannot be done if you are not in unison with your teammates in your boat. I think rowing gives me the perfect balance between working as a team and building my strengths as an individual."
What are you planning to study?
"I hope to study Biology or Chemistry with the plan of going to med school after college. I am also interested in political science and art, so I look forward to finding classes that could combine these interests."
What is your favorite SF memory?
O"ne of my favorite SF memories was participating in tug-of-war during homecoming week with some of my classmates. It was definitely a great way to end the day on sports day and brought our team closer as a group."
What is your strength in the boat? What is your position?
"This past year I have mainly been in either seven or eight seat in the boat. In eight seat or "stroke seat" I will usually set the rhythm as the person farthest in the front of the boat and change the pace depending on if we are working on sprints or long distance. I enjoy being in this seat since I'm able to set a strong pace that is easy for my teammates to follow."
What are your career highlights? Best finishes, top regattas etc?
"In Spring of 2019 I raced at San Diego crew classic in seven seat of our women's eight and finished second in the A Final behind Saugatuck. Our same crew raced a few months later at the Youth Regional Southwest Championships at Lake Natoma and placed second in the A Final, advancing to Youth Nationals in Sarasota, Florida where we finished ninth in the nation (women's 8+). This fall I stroked our women's eight at the Head of the Charles in Cambridge where we finished 17th out of 85 crews."
