As all of Row New York’s 2014 graduates spend the summer preparing for their first year at college, we decided to check in with a 2013 alumna who’s gearing up for her sophomore year. Anita Guaman was a Row New Yorker for three years in Queens before heading up to Maine to begin Colby College last fall. And she was gracious enough to reflect on her experience and share her thoughts about that first year with us. Congratulations on all your successes, Anita — we know there are many more ahead of you!
It was about a seven-hour ride up to Colby College, and I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous, excited, sad, grateful, and so much more. I never pictured myself arriving at a dorm, unpacking my things, and introducing myself to a stranger who I would be living with through my first year of college. I was entering a new community, and little did I know the experiences it held for me.
I graduated from The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria, a small all-girls public school where I was one of about eighty in the first graduating class. The school was less than a ten-minute walk from home. But Colby was a whole new place. I never imagined myself in a small, liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine, and I would not have been as prepared or confident with my choice without the support of family and friends.
One of the most difficult things about transitioning to a new place was leaving those family members and friends behind. No longer would I wear my familiar uniform, be in a classroom filled entirely with young ladies, take the train to get around the city, call my teachers by their first names, and row out of the Queens boathouse in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. But I was taking up to Colby what I’d learned from everyone. I’ve learned to grow and belong to a community filled with young, strong, independent women who can make anything happen if they are motivated and work hard. I belonged to a caring team at Row New York, who are passionate about rowing and filled my afternoons with laughter, support, and a hunger to get better every practice. My family made me humble and proud; I have the hardest-working parents who have had little privilege, but who always worked to support me and my four siblings. I had all the motivation, skills, and experiences to dive into life and learning at Colby.
Waterville, Maine, is no New York City. My first year was filled with new experiences. I went white-water canoeing and camping for the first time. And I met a lot of new people who helped me through my first year, including a roommate and fellow dorm residents who turned out to be amazing. We would get meals, work out, and attend basketball, football, and hockey games together. Sometimes we’d have movie nights or sit back and enjoy music in my dorm. But the greatest support I have is from my posse. I am a Posse Scholar, along with about 40 other students at Colby. My posse is filled with nine other remarkable people who will be graduating together in 2017. We all lean on each other for advice, laugh together, sometimes cry together, and play Pictionary when we need a study break. Karaoke nights were really fun; it was great just staying in and singing to Ed Sheeran, R. Kelly, Beyoncé, and even One Direction with my friends and posse. And we were all grateful to have an amazing, caring, thoughtful, Beyoncé-loving posse mentor.
At Colby I had very good times, but I also learned from the difficult times. Sometimes leaving the library at 3am was hard and depressing, but I always made a point of staring up at the sky as I walked back to my dorm. I would see a sky filled with bright stars and a moon, and I would think to myself that it was beautiful at Colby, and remind myself that I am there to learn and to become someone successful. Gazing at the moon made me feel closer to my family. When I was about 10 years old and went to visit my two older sisters in Ecuador, I would feel homesick. What helped me feel less homesick was looking at the moon, and thinking about how it was the same moon my parents and brothers were seeing across the ocean. At Colby I did the same thing; I looked at the moon and I felt that I wasn’t that far away from home.
Another piece of home that I wanted to keep with me at college was rowing. Row New York introduced me to a sport that I never would have had the opportunity to learn about, and I wanted to continue being part of a team, traveling to new places, and pushing myself and my teammates. It was hard balancing academic work with practices but over time it became easier. For the fall season I was the men’s coxswain. I knew how important coxswains are from Row New York, and I was up for the challenge. But I missed rowing and by the end of winter I gave up coxing and transitioned back. Rowing in college requires a lot of time management and motivation. Rowing is a sport where you have to work hard to get the results you want, and you have to be accountable because you are part of a larger group. I love my teammates because we always encourage each other and try our best to become a unified and stronger team — and through morning practices, afternoon practices, extra workouts, and the support of each other and our incredible coaches, we have. Rowing has only made me a stronger and better person, and I have Row New York to thank for introducing me to the sport and for teaching me the value of winning the small battles.
Winning the small battles is a lesson I always remind myself of. Sometimes accomplishing the small things can lead to bigger successes. I was ready to win my small battles at Colby and explore new things. I enjoyed sharing my family’s immigration story with a small audience along with other strong Colby students at Stories Across Borders. I loved participating in small group discussions with my Multicultural Literacy Discussion group. I adored the time I spent at a local elementary school, where I worked with a kindergarten class. My first year at Colby was hard but I appreciated all my new experiences and opportunities to learn, and I am more prepared going into sophomore year.
This fall I will continue to share my story, and meet new people. I met an incredible young woman at Colby who told me she always says hi to everyone and sometimes she doesn’t receive one back but she keeps trying. For sophomore year I want to get to know others’ stories, to learn from them, and I will use her method of opening up to people I haven’t met before. I’m also prepared for those late nights, finals week, naps, and lunch lines at Colby. I’m ready to dive into my Education and Government classes. I believe that next year will be even better and I can’t wait to walk up to my dorm and settle in with my roommate, who is no longer a stranger, and with the help of friends and professors I will enjoy another year at Colby.
