It might not seem like a good thing to stand out during orientation, but for Emma Compton, her height is what caught the attention of the Rowing coaches who encouraged her to try out crew. This design and merchandising (D&M) junior is from Pennington, NJ, and is busier than you could imagine. Not only does she row for the Drexel crew team but she is actively involved with the Alpha Sigma Alpha (ASA) sorority and the Westphal College.
Emma chose design and merchandising as a way of combining her interest in fashion and business. “I did a D&M summer program at Drexel before I went into my senior year of [high school which] gave me a really good feel for the program and the school and I fell in love with both,” Emma said. It didn’t hurt that Drexel’s D&M program ranks among the top three in the country.
She’s also been applying to co-ops for summer term after securing a spring position with Boathouse Sports in their product development department. With spring being the peak season for rowing, it was really beneficial that she was able to find a co-op in Philadelphia that wouldn’t take her away from her team. For the summer term, though, she’s hoping to get out of Philly and possibly explore a different part of the country.
With crew being such a large part of her life, Emma enjoys being on a team that introduced her to some amazing teammates and friends. “My teammates constantly push me to be a better person and a better athlete,” Emma said, “I am so grateful to have such positive influences in my life.”
There are some parts of crew that aren’t as amazing though, she acknowledged her least favorite part is when winter season training sessions start. The low temperatures make practicing outside impossible, so they rely on ergs and rowing machines. Erging, also known as indoor rowing, uses those machines you see at the gym but are always a little too intimated to try out.
As for Emma’s sorority involvement, she didn’t even want to rush freshman year. Her roommates all planned to rush and after tagging along for Night on the Row, she realized that the girls were nothing like she expected. This pushed her to actually give Greek life a chance and she signed up for Fall Rush in 2013. “I chose ASA because of how comfortable I felt around all [of] the women after only 3 days,” Emma said. There wasn’t any pressure to try and fit in or act like someone she wasn’t, and that really sealed the deal.
Emma said the best part of being in ASA is the diverse backgrounds and interests of its members. She knows she can always find a sister who shares her desire to try something new, so rarely will she have to take on a new challenge alone. The variety of interests of her sorority sisters actually afforded Emma the opportunity to go skydiving during her freshman year. “My roommate and I really wanted to go… so we asked around and got some sisters who had been waiting for an opportunity to go,” Emma said. This turned out to be one her best sorority memories.
If you feel exhausted just reading about Emma’s life, you aren’t alone. When asked how she balances it all, she replied, “It’s not hard [to do] because I enjoy it all so much.” She has experienced times when schedules conflicted and had to prioritize responsibilities, but luckily these don’t come up too often. Her parting words of advice to anyone willing to listen is to take advantage of every opportunity that crosses your path. The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t turn out the way you planned but this just frees you up to try other things. Emma never thought she’d be where she is today and is so grateful for the opportunities that have crossed her path, so you never know what you might be missing out on if you don’t jump at your next exciting opportunity. It may even lead to a skydiving adventure.Â