“My experience for Radcliffe crew has definitely been a learning experience,” Soutter said. “Not only about rowing, but also about myself and what I am capable of.”

What Soutter prides as crew’s core learning experience is its value on both teamwork as well as personal achievement.

“You learn a lot from working in a program that has very much of a team aspect as well as a very strong individual component,” she said. “Rowing has definitely taught me a lot about working on a team and also about trying to make personal strides, but also supporting those around you and challenging your teammates around you so they also make strides.”

She also recognizes the tremendous influence that her teammates and coaches have had on her during her time as a member of the Radcliffe heavyweights.

“My coaches have definitely taught me a lot,” she said. “All of them have taught me something different in terms of leadership skills, and they are all people I aspire to be like when I’m grown up, when I am a parent, and when I have a job. I also aspire to be like my teammates in the sense that they have taught me to be just as competitive as they are. They have taught me to be competitive but also being a good teammate and the support that I get from them, and I always try to give back.”

The senior will try to put her competitive drive to use in this weekend’s Head of the Charles Regatta, where she will row in Radcliffe’s top boat in the Championship Eight event. Soutter hopes that Sunday’s race will serve as an indication of the team’s progress thus far to itself and its competitors.

“It’s really fun to race in the Head of the Charles,” Soutter said. “We’d like to have a good showing at the Head of the Charles just so that we can show others where we are and where we are going to be in the spring.”

—Staff writer Oluwatoni A. Campbell can be reached at oluwatoni.campbell@college.harvard.edu.