Alabama Rowing Senior Q&A: Raien Emery
11/6/2018 3:03:00 PM | Rowing
We’ll be getting to know this year’s senior class with a series of Q&As here on RollTide.com
In her fourth year representing the Crimson Tide, Raien Emery hails from Sheridan, Wyo., and is an Environmental Science major in the accelerated master's program. Through AMP, students can take graduate courses that can count towards both a bachelor's degree and graduate degree, thus, shortening the time it takes to earn a master's degree by up to one year.
What's your favorite memory of rowing for Alabama?
"Last year at Head of Charles, our 4+Â was on a redemption trip. Everyone except myself was a senior. Our coxswain took a perfect course, we pushed together in all the right places, the weather was perfect. We were so happy with how we made it our race, how we owned it. Then we got off the water and heard the results. Our time put us in first place, and as other boats continued to cross the line, none of them came close to touching us. Not only had we earned gold, but we had also set a course record by over 20 seconds. We couldn't believe it. We were crying, hugging our parents. This day stands out to me because my mom had raced at Charles when she was in college, so the venue itself was meaningful. But to be a part of that boat? To help those seniors, my teammates, my friends, the girls I looked up to most, win gold? Nothing could have been more fulfilling than that."
What's your funniest memory of rowing for Alabama?
"Last spring, we had a race in Kansas. Their 2K course is on a lake so if there's a breeze, it gets pretty choppy. Unfortunately, on our practice day, there was a pretty significant wind, the water was white-capping and it was cold. Our boat was tentative in the waves (on the Black Warrior, we are lucky to have consistently flat water), Emily Navin (our coxswain) somehow managed to find every log in the lake to run us into, and we were barely making it through our warm-up. At the start of our second lap, morale was low. Waves kept splashing into the boat and the head-wind was brutal against our squared oar blades. Then we rowed past some geese. We must've gotten too close, because we startled them into flight right over our boat. Which normally would've been fine...except one of the geese chose the exact wrong time to go to the bathroom. Lucky for me, the goose poop did not land on me but instead landed on Nicole Lane's foot stretchers (about a foot behind me). Being out in the middle of the lake, there was nothing we could do about it, but judging by Nicole's face, she was not happy with it being there. Despite Nicole gagging, we actually finished off that practice with a lot more power and concentration than we had started and even had a great race the next day. We joked about the goose poop being our lucky charm, but I think it's safe to say Nicole was glad to wash her feet."
If you were going to be stranded on an island, which teammate(s) would you bring and why?
"I would take Cori Guay. She gets it done and has a great attitude while doing it. Also, she's just the right mix of savage and humor. Her humor would go a long way to keeping us from going crazy and talking to coconuts. Or, ya know what? I'll bend this question a bit. I'd take one of our athletic trainers, too! That way they could give us back massages after those long days of survival."
If you could go back in time, which decade would you choose and why?
"I think I'd go back to before the American colonization. It would be really cool to explore the 'untouched' land and how different it would be without western influence. Mostly, I'd like to see the stars before all this light and air pollution."
What's your favorite song right now and why?
"My favorite song for the past four or five years has been Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. This song has been in the background of my life, especially noticed in the silence of the stars, in the pauses between the grind and in the moments when its notes were the silver lining I leaned on. Though some have told me it's an ironic song choice for me, considering I'm not religious, I find a lot of power and emotion in the song in my own interpretation."
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