Sophia Blair Senior Profile

DURHAM, N.C. -- Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Sophia Blair to learn more about the Newtown Square, Pa., native.

GoDuke.com: What has been your favorite place to compete since you've been at Duke?

Sophia Blair: My freshman year we went to the Dad Vail in Philadelphia, and I'm actually from Philadelphia and rowed of the Schuykill River all four years of high school, so that was my favorite place because not only was I rowing on my home course, but I also had a team dinner at my house. SO my mom loved that, my family loved that, and I think the team loved that. Having a home cooked dinner was really good for everyone.

GoDuke.com: What's a road trip memory that you think will stick with you?
SB: So this must have been my sophomore year. We went to Clemson, and at Clemson they were giving out free cookies at the hotel desk, and they had run out. So this guy that was working behind the desk said, 'Hey, you guys want to come with me you can get frozen cookie dough from the freezer. Sorry, we don't have any more left.” So he ended up taking like four girls to somewhere in the hotel. It's twenty minutes later, and I am sitting out icing myself because I was injured at the time and I am starting to get concerned. Behind the desk there were all the cameras of different parts of the hotel, and I got so upset and worried that I actually went behind the front desk and was like, “Sir, I need to see all these cameras, I need to find my teammates.” Funny pictures were taken, but I was genuinely concerned. Thankfully they ended up coming back anyway, and I couldn't see them on the camera, which was also scary, but that's definitely a memory I will never forget.

GoDuke.com: What's a lesson that you've taken away from competing that will help you later in life?
SB: When I came in as a freshman I was incredibly intense in everything I did concerning rowing. For instance I would run ten miles a day on Sunday, our day off, or I would not speak to anyone while I was in the boat—all of these things I learned in high school. But over the course of my four years I have seriously relaxed, which has helped me not only with rowing but outside of rowing in the job search, and real world. My friends have been a serious part of that. When I was a sophomore I was sandwiched between Lauren Miranda and Katie Dukovich, and anyone that knows them knows they're a bunch of kids so they really loosened me up, and would continue to bother me if I wouldn't talk to them. Eventually they broke me and I became a lot more low-key.

GoDuke.com: What has been your proudest academic achievement at Duke?
SB: I am an Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major with a concentration in Mandarin Chinese. I would say my proudest academic achievement was becoming fluent in Mandarin and also living in Beijing for two months and having to speak that language the entire time. We even had to sign a language pledge during that program. That is something that I would have never thought of doing before I came to Duke.

GoDuke.com: What does it mean to you to be able to represent Duke?
SB: I think being able to represent Duke as an athlete kind of puts you on a platform that the non-athletic Duke students don't really have access to. For instance, being in Duke's Athlete Ally program looking to end homophobia and transphobia in sports and voicing our concerns as Duke student-athletes kind of gives our words more weight. I've found that a lot of people really want to listen because, “Oh, Duke student athletes are making this stance? I want to hear more.” I think that because Duke is such an amazing university and is thought of so highly that we are really able to have more impact in our conversations. Opening up the dialogue for gay, transgender, non-heterosexual athletes in sports has been huge.

GoDuke.com: What do you think you will miss most about Duke?
SB: My friends. They're all rowers, pretty much. I don't know how I would have made it through without them. I will be at Duke probably at least once a month next year visiting because I love them all.

GoDuke.com: Do you have a pre-meet routine or superstition?
SB: I eat oatmeal and coffee before matches and I take about thirty minutes on our bus ride to the course and I listen to really intense Eminem songs, like Cinderella Man, to really get me going.

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