July 16, 2001

Meredith Krull is a rising senior from Raleigh and a member of the UNC rowing team. Throughout the year, she will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at her team and the experience of being a varsity athlete at North Carolina.

SEATTLE--Perhaps it's the strong work ethic we have learned while being a part of Carolina Rowing, because alumnae and current team members alike are hard at work this summer! It seems everyone is keeping busy and dedicating themselves to summer school, various jobs or even grad school.

Recent graduate Erin Neppel spends most of her day looking at cadavers and skeletons at the School of Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. She reports that her first set of final exams is quickly approaching, so be sure to wish her luck!

Kim Dilda just returned from a trip to Boston, where she searched for an apartment and prepared for her move in the fall. She is thrilled to have found an apartment right on the Charles River! This coming year, Kim will be doing medical research with children and applying to medical school.

Congratulations to Lindsey Hawks! Lindsey just became an EMT and can be found driving an ambulance and administering emergency care. She also reports that she is having an outstanding summer spending time with her husband and looking forward to her one-year anniversary.

Kara Kerscher has been working as a camp counselor for disabled children. She reports that although it is a difficult job, it is tremendously rewarding.

Robin Yamakawa, along with Kim, has been spending a great deal of time working with the Nike Rowing Camps that Carolina hosts each year. It is an enormous amount of work, and completely exhausting, but she is thrilled to be showing high-school rowers what things are like in the southern part of heaven!

Rising juniors Molly Benner and Sarah Ketchie have been studying hard while enrolled in summer school. Sarah has also been traveling, as she just returned from a vacation in California.

I am still here in Seattle, Wash., cheering on the Mariners, teaching sailing all day long and being inundated with rowing. From the single I have been rowing on Lake Washington, I can see Mt. Rainier, the Cascades and all the skyscrapers downtown. It is a breathtaking experience! My co-workers joke that I brought the Carolina blue sky with me, as it has hardly rained these past few weeks!

I think I can speak for the team when I say that regardless of the incredible experiences we are having across the country this summer, we cannot wait to come back and kick off another year with Carolina Rowing. Please keep logging on to our Web site to see what unfolds for each of us as our summer draws to a close!

Yours in Carolina Blue,

Mer