For a cappella groups, recruiting periods and Hell Week, the week before a big performance, can require time commitments of up to six hours a day. But for Van Fossen, the scheduling somehow finds a way of working out.

“It just seems to work out perfectly,” she said. “Recruiting week is right when we get back to school, so crew is not super crazy yet. And then crew starts to die down when the [Fallen Angels] fall concert happens.”

Van Fossen has recruited several rowers to join her in Fallen Angels, including sophomore Katie Wilcox.

“[Van Fossen] is very loyal to both the crew team and Fallen Angels,” Wilcox said. “She’s an asset to both, and she will definitely be missed next year.”

Wilcox has been impressed by Van Fossen’s commitments and her ability to manage everything she has chosen to invest herself in.

“She’s not one to gripe about what she has to do and waste time. She will finish practice, go to dinner, go to the library for a few hours and get her stuff done. It’s really impressive.”

Despite her numerous accolades and achievements off the water, Van Fossen is making the most noise on it. Last summer, while not working at her internship with Urban Outfitters, Van Fossen trained with Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia.

“She trained hard over the summer, and made incredible strides because of it,” Soutter said. “The improvements Kirsten has made over the past four years, let alone the last two months, have really opened everyone’s eyes to the possibilities of what we are all capable of.”

Wilcox agrees and believes Van Fossen’s hard work over the summer is helping not only Kirsten’s performance, but also the performance of the team in general.

“Kirsten leads by example,” Wilcox said. “She worked incredibly hard over the summer on her strength and fitness, and she is really inspiring people right now with how well she is doing on the erg and on the water.”

For Van Fossen, when everything piles up and the week gets tough, taking a second to reflect on her passions make it easy to do everything with such ease.

“I think about what I like about each thing and why I want to continue doing each. For crew, I love the team, I love to work out, and I’m a competitive person. For Fallen Angels, it’s a great group of girls and sometimes it’s relaxing to sing for two hours. And in engineering, I love the problem solving.”