This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SMU chapter.
When did you start Rowing?
I started rowing my junior year of high school in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The head coach of the program was my AP Chemistry teacher. I remember the day, like it was yesterday, that I came up to him and said, “I want to row in college.” He replied, “If anyone can do it, you can Carstens.”
What made you decide to Row at SMU?
It’s a cute story actually. I was really looking to go up to the northeast to row, a decision that my parents highly disapproved of. My grandmother who lives in Grapevine, Grandma Giggles, called me and said that she would do my laundry every weekend if I came to row at SMU. That sealed the deal and she has been true to her word for the past four years.
How does it feel to be captain two Years in a Row?
It’s a unbelievable experience, a real dream come true. I am still so honored to have been selected as a captain my junior and senior year. The leadership abilities that have have developed are truly invaluable and I know I will carry them with me into the professional world.
What made the team decide to create a Dance to the song “Call me Maybe?”
Our athletic trainer, Drew Yoder, actually had the idea. He was driving the passenger van we took to the race course during our conference championship regatta. We ran with that idea and just had a blast with the choreography and team bonding.
How did you feel when you found out you were going to be on the Today Show?
I thought it was a bad joke at first when one of my teammates called me to give me the news. I knew that we had gotten some minor publicity on the internet and on Good Morning America- I never dreamed that we would be asked to make any appearances. When I realized that we were going to New York that night I could not stop laughing!
What was the experience like?
It was unreal. I still have a hard time believing it really happened. We got the call Wednesday around lunchtime and flew out to New York City that night. NBC snagged us suites in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel but we didn’t get to enjoy them very long before we had to be at the studio in the morning. We went to hair and makeup and met the Harvard Baseball team. Let me take this moment to mention that their youtube video does not do their attractiveness justice. Finally we our out in the Plaza, getting ready to do our segment and producers, camera and lighting are stopping by to chat- then another man pops his head into the van and for a moment I don’t recognize who he is. It’s Matt Lauer. My teammates said my face was priceless when I finally realized who he was. We met all of the anchors as well as the guests on the show that day. After the show was done, we had breakfast in Times Square and then flew home. The whole trip was under 24 hours- a true whirlwind adventure.