JENNAE ALEXANDER
The following is a spotlight profile on Jennae, the University of Rhode Island's nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 14 outstanding student-athletes for the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will profile each of the institutional nominees.
PROFILE
Jennae Alexander graduated Magna Cum Laude in December of 2020 from Rhode Island and finished with a Master's of Science in Accounting in 2022. Named a national Scholar-Athlete by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, she has also been named Rowing All-Academic by the A-10. She has served as a tutor and had multiple accounting-related internships and is a Dean's List and A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree. Alexander led her boats to top 25 finishes in the NCAA Rowing Championship in each of her four years while also earning All-Conference honors twice. She helped Rhode Island win four straight A-10 Rowing titles, three of which came as a member of URI's Varsity 8 team. She volunteered with Canonchet Farms and worked on leadership and teamwork exercises during her four yearss.
Q&A WITH JANNAE
Q: If You Could Know the Absolute and Total Truth to One Question, What Question Would You Ask?
I would like to know if there is life after death.
Q: Who or What has been your biggest inspiration or motivation?
My biggest inspiration has been my mother. She is my person, the one that I can go to at any moment and for any situation. She also inspires me with all of her accomplishments and how she is able to be an extremely successful lawyer while also making her family her number 1 priority.
Q: What hard goals have you set and/or accomplish?
I wanted to set a personal record on all of my test workouts in my fifth year. I was able to accomplish that.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received? The worst?
One of my mother’s favorite sayings is, “You can do anything for one day.” Whenever I call her with a problem, whether I am nervous for a test or a workout, her answer would always be that saying. Now, in my daily life that saying gets me through everything. During a hard piece at practice, I would think “You can do anything for 4 minutes.” When I would have a hard time during the long winters in Rhode Island, I would think, “You can do anything for 4 months.” The saying is not restricted to an amount of time, it is just a reminder that I can do anything.
Q: What is the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?
I think moving to Rhode Island to go to college away from my family and friends was one of the hardest and most courageous things I have ever done.
Q: What are the top three things on your bucket list?
I would like to live in Italy for at least a year, become a lawyer, and go on a Safari in Africa.
Q: What do you think is the most important issue for student-athletes today?
I think that mental health is a very large issue. Student-athletes have the pressure of not only being outstanding in their athletics, but we are also held to a higher standard when it comes to academics. It is extremely hard to balance athletics, academics, a social life, and everything in between. Though we are constantly reminded that we are supposed to take time for ourselves or let people know when we need a break, there is never a good time for the break. If we take time off in athletics, we risk losing our spot that we have fought so hard to earn. If we take time off in academics, we fall behind in school and risk losing eligibility in athletics and falling behind in our schedule to graduate. Finding a way to truly help student-athletes balance their lives without risking their accomplishments is an important issue.