Sue  

I am very fortunate to be happily married to Steve, have two married children and two grandchildren, all of whom are the greatest joys of my life.  We live in Florida half the year, but we are full time Eagles and Phillies fans. Since 2005 I have been a college admissions counselor for at-risk high school students in the Greater Philadelphia area.  Each year, I advise approximately 60 high school seniors on the college admissions and financial aid processes.  They have rewarded me by giving me great faith in our future generations to lead our country.

As a young girl in Allentown, I had no opportunities to play organized sports, so I excelled in jump rope, jacks, hopscotch (school champion, thank you very much) and playing all-time outfielder for my older brothers.  Occasionally I was allowed to bat. At Penn I finally got to be part of a team: I played volleyball and was on the PENNguinettes, a synchronized swim team. Then came a nearly 40-year drought of being on a team.  Until . . . . . . . . .

In 2014, nine years after my diagnosis, Eileen, a fellow Penn basketball fan, told me about her Dragon Boat team.  I had never heard of this sport. She recruited me, brought me to the river and it was love at first sight.  

When I am back in Philly, my favorite activity is paddling on the Schuylkill.  It brings me a sense of peace and appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us.  I love the physical exercise and the challenge  of keeping 20 paddlers in sync in the boat.  There is nothing like the sound of 20 paddles hitting the water at the exact same time.  I love the laughter we share whenever we’re together.  I love when we win medals and love those extra special trips to places like Florence, Italy and Szeged, Hungary for the world crew club championships.  I’m a Pisces. I love the water. I never had a sister.  Now I can be on the water with 21 sisters (sometimes only 11 in a short boat) at one time. How lucky am I!