Freshman rower Anne Marie Bernhard working for the team
Anne Marie Bernhard is not your typical freshman at Iowa. Not only does she row for the UI squad, she hails from the Netherlands.
A drastic, life-changing move is all about being able to adapt, and that is exactly what Bernhard has been able to do. The cultural shock of moving halfway across the world may present a challenge for some, but she has embraced the differences — like the size of Iowa’s campus, which she calls “hilly” compared with the Netherlands.
Her migration to Iowa from the city of Voorburg began at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships in France.
She was cheering on a friend who was competing at the championships, when Iowa head coach Mandi Kowal approached and asked if she was a rower. Bernhard, who has the tall, thin build of a rower, said she had been to the European championships. Kowal asked for her personal records, and the two kept in contact from that moment on.
Bernhard did her research. A couple of attractions drew her to Iowa, even though she did not see the campus before deciding on the Hawkeyes. The first was Iowa’s rowing facilities, especially the indoor rowing tank.
“I’ve never seen a rowing tank with moving water,” Bernhard said. “In the Netherlands, we have rowing tanks, but not with the moving water. It’s amazing.”
The second appeal to attend Iowa was the rowing team itself.
“The rowing team is not too big,” she said. “You’re not a number, you’re a person.”
One of the biggest changes she has seen is the difference in the “team” aspect. To Bernhard, the rowing team has been like a second family.
The Netherlands is seven hours ahead of the Hawkeye State, so Bernhard is able to e-mail with her parents throughout the week, but they talk on the phone only once a week, on Friday afternoons.
“Here, it’s really a team thing. You do everything as a team, and that’s really motivating,” she said. “Even if we do a run or something, something you technically do on your own, you still feel like you’re doing it together, which is really different.”
Roommate Louise Bensz, a sophomore on the rowing team, complimented Bernhard’s dedication to the team and kindness towards her teammates. She said Bernhard contributes in practice by putting others first.
Bernhard herself is open about her dedication to her teammates.
“It’s how you can help each other, how you can make each other better, because it’s not just you,” she said. “It’s not just about how good you are, it’s about how much you can make your teammates better.”
Bernhard has faced challenges some freshmen will never have to, and Kowal said the freshman is handling them “like a champion.” The most rewarding difference for Bernhard comes when she puts on her black and gold uniform.
“People are so proud to be a Hawkeye and wear black and gold,” Bernhard said. “In the beginning, I was surprised, and I didn’t know what to do with it, but it’s so cool to be a part of the whole thing.”
Kowal said Bernhard is team-driven.
“I think she might be our best leader we’ve ever had here,” Kowal said. “She is kind of all encompassing in a lot of ways — academically, her choices, understanding rowing, understanding what it’s like to be a team — she understands that at a very young age.”
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