With less than a week to go until the end of this year’s Summer Games, teams from around the world are preparing to compete in the
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. One Georgetown employee who has no physical disability --
Simona Chin Campbell -- will compete in adaptive rowing during the Sept. 6 to Sept. 17 event.
USRowing, the official national governing body for the sport, named Georgetown’s Chin Campbell to the U.S. Paralympic Team’s first “legs-trunk-arms four with coxswain crew.”
The team consists of two male rowers, two female rowers and a coxswain, all of whom will leave for China on Aug. 29 to compete during the rowing competitions, which run from Sept. 9 through Sept.11.
Chin Campbell, who has years of rowing experience, will serve as the coxswain, the only spot on a Paralympic rowing team for which a physical disability is not a qualifying condition for competition.
In the eyes of teammates such as
Emma Preuschl, Chin Campbell meets the most important qualification, that of on-water coach.
“If (Chin Campbell) wasn’t there we probably would be doing zigzags down the course,” said Preuschl, who suffers from Erb’s Palsy, a disease that limits strength and range of motion in her left arm. “She is sort of the leader of the pack by correcting us, making important decisions before the race at the start line and during the race taking strategic moves against other crews.”
Teammate
Jamie Dean said Campbell brings a good balance to the team.
“She brings the right blend of calmness and intensity to races that allows us to relax when necessary and to turn on the jets when necessary,” he said. “She’s obviously an experienced and savvy racer.”
Chin Campbell and her teammates meet every other weekend at intense training camps across the country, usually practicing six times over the course of three days. They’ve even practiced at
Thompson’s Boat Center, the Hoyas’ practice site.
The associate director of MBA Student Services at the
McDonough School of Business said she enjoys her roles as Georgetown adviser and coxswain and that they have much in common.
“Both jobs require you to be a people person who understands the goals and motivations of the person you’re interacting with at that time,” she said, “while still tying in the fundamentals and the basic foundation that everyone has to operate under.”
Much of Chin Campbell’s success on the water may be traced to her ability to direct the force of four individual rowers -- Preuschl, Dean,
Jesse Karmazin and
Tracy Tackett -- into one powerful and cohesive boat.
“They are four separate individuals, and they get motivated by different things,” she said. “I know that if I am a little bit hard on Jamie or Jessie, who are the two guys on the boat, they’ll actually respond very well. On the other hand, Emma needs a lot of reminding and positive reinforcement. Tracy is very technical-minded, and its just a matter of always reminding her, giving her numbers and data, and that’s what motivates her. Everybody approaches their rowing styles differently.”
Chin Campbell advises students about the curricular demands every MBA student must meet at Georgetown. She also tries to tailor her advice to the different needs of each individual.
“She often takes initiatives in mentoring international students,” said
Xiayun Wang (G’09), an MBA student who happens to be from Beijing.
Wang said Chin Campbell coaches her on academic and career issues, as well as on the myriad of issues international students face when they study in a new country.
Chin Campbell is not only noticed for her coaching ability with MBA students -- the same spirit got her selected to represent the United States back in June after participating in the U.S. Paralympic Team’s selection camp in Philadelphia.
During the selection camp, team coach
Karen Lewis analyzed Chin Campbell’s coxing style and asked rowers for their input on who would best meet the needs of the team.
The prospective coxswain’s ability to motivate the team and her knack for delivering vital information during the race -- both integral skills -- put Chin Campbell on top.
“Simona is one tough cookie,” Preuschl said. “Her sassy attitude and assertiveness keeps things moving during practice. Her confidence also contributes to our success as a boat. If she believes in us, then we become more confident in our competition.”
Chin Campbell’s desire for rowing dates back to her undergraduate years at Stanford University in California, where friends in her freshman-year residence hall persuaded her to be try out for the coxswain spot on Stanford’s crew team.
“Somewhere along the way, they were told, we need someone who is small and bossy, and has a loud voice, and who is OK with trying to command a whole bunch of people who are twice their size,” said the petite 5-foot-2-inch athlete. “I went out the next day, and I just loved it.”
She joined the crew team at Stanford and went on to become a member of the Pac-10 All-Academic Team and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. She also received the Kent Mitchell Award for Excellence in Coxing in 2002.
After graduating from Stanford, Chin Campbell spent three years with Goldman Sachs on Wall Street before returning to California to earn her MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout those years, Chin Campbell continued to train and was always looking for new opportunities to get out on the water and compete.
Chin Campbell joined the staff at Georgetown last year. She continued her commitment to the sport, and said that she hopes all of her training and experience will result in strong contributions for her team.
“Having an experienced coxswain like Simona makes us more competitive,” said Dean, “and more confident as we approach Beijing.”
