Seniors set up for success

The four seniors on the Lehigh men's rowing team have many things in common. Most entered Lehigh with no rowing experience and had little idea of what they were getting into when trying out for the team. For these four, becoming Mountain Hawks has led to success in all realms: athletically, academically and soon to be in the working world.

Alex Smith (Mechanical Engineering major), Zachary Gant (Civil Engineering), Anthony Palacio (Industrial Engineering) and Amanda Stillwell (Behavioral Neuroscience) already have impressive jobs lined up.

Smith will work for Armstrong World Industries as an Engineer.

"I met with Armstrong at the fall career fair," he said. "I interviewed on campus the next day. After two more interviews at Armstrong's campus, I was offered a job."

A pair of internship experiences led to a full-time job offer for Gant. Between his sophomore and junior years, Gant interned at Bohler Engineering in Center Valley. He specialized in land development, code research and subdivision. The following summer, he interned with Turner Construction Company at a hospital in northeast Philadelphia.

"I was on-site every day and helped oversee the hospital under construction for the summer," said Gant. "I received and accepted a job offer this past October from Turner to work at the Philadelphia branch as a Field Engineer. I start with all the new hires in September."

Meanwhile, Palacio will be moving to Arlington, Virginia in July to work with ExxonMobil as a pricing analyst while Stillwell will move to Boston to start work at the Broad Institute.

"The Broad Institute's Genomic Platform was formed by MIT and Harvard to further DNA research and science with the most state-of-the-art techniques," said Stillwell. "I will be sequencing DNA and working to make the technique more efficient. I became aware of this opportunity through my own research on the company and later found out a former classmate of mine is currently working there. She passed along my resume and set me up for an interview."

These four epitomize the all-around student-athlete which Lehigh Athletics stands for.

"Lehigh has done so much to help me get to this point," said Palacio. "Lehigh does a great job preparing students because professors have high expectations expect. They expect students to deliver top-notch work and by placing such high expectations on them, it helps the students excel in a professional setting."

Palacio is part of the Integrated Business and Engineering honors program.

"The IBE program has been very influential," he said. "While in the program, I've developed great communication and presentation skills and learned how to effectively get my message across to others."

On the water, three of the four seniors had never even rowed before joining a collegiate team. Asked when and why they started to row, their responses were similar.

"I started rowing my freshman year at Lehigh and became interested through a high school friend who was on the team," said Smith. "I had only ever seen rowing in the Olympics and thought it looked intense, so I decided to give it a try."

"Lehigh was recruiting people with all experience levels so I gave it a shot," said Gant. "I didn't have any idea what was in store for my next four years."

"I didn't know too much about the sport and definitely had no idea that there were high schools with rowing teams," said Palacio. "I really fell in love with the sport after trying it."

Stillwell was the one senior who entered Lehigh with any rowing experience.

"I started rowing when I did not want to play field hockey anymore, which was my freshman year of high school," she said. "I wanted to try something new, and it has since become a really important part of my life (30 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, eight years). When it came time to look at colleges and recruiting season was all anyone thought about, I really wanted to be somewhere I could balance the best education with Division I athletics and the 'classic' college experience."

At the time, the Mountain Hawks were having varying degrees of success and featured new head coach Brian Conley overseeing both the men's and women's programs.

"I wanted to be part of the rebuilding process," said Palacio. "No doubt, it's the most intense sport I've ever been competed in, but I love coming out and practicing with my team and trying to achieve our goals."

All four seniors play key roles in their boats. Gant and Smith are captains of the Men's Varsity Eight - Gant sitting in the bow seat and Smith in the six seat. Stillwell is the coxswain of the Second Varsity Eight while Palacio sits in the seven seat.

Lehigh has continued its upward trend this season. Most recently, the men's squad won 5-of-5 races against Hamilton University two weekends ago. The Varsity Eight also reached the grand finals in the Murphy Cup while both the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight defeated archrival Lafayette to help Lehigh regain the River Cup for another year.

The seniors look to wrap up their careers on a high note at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta this weekend in Philadelphia.

"I am super excited for Dad Vails," said Smith. "It's the strongest, fastest crew I've been a part of at Lehigh. I can't wait to see what we can do. I think we stand a pretty good shot at medaling."

"This is the most excited I've ever been for a regatta," said Stillwell. "Our team is the strongest it has ever been, especially on the men's side, and we have an awesome opportunity to do well. That being said, we're only graduating four seniors. The bulk of our team is sophomores and freshmen, so there is a lot of potential for big things in the near future."

This senior class has helped Lehigh Rowing and Lehigh University while the university has helped them as well. It's been a mutual relationship. The seniors have helped the program reach new levels while the skills these seniors have picked up in the classroom and on the water have set them up for success in the future.

"The competitive side of rowing will undoubtedly help me once I begin my career in the real world," said Smith. "While everyone at Lehigh goes through nearly the same academics, it's the teamwork, competitive demand and daily time commitment that set an athlete apart. In practicing as a team, towards a common goal, day in and day out, it teaches you how to manage time and work with other people. These are all aspects that cannot be taught in a classroom."

"Our Varsity Men's coach last year, Coach Jason Moorehead said that we (the rowers) have free time. We just choose to spend it rowing," said Gant. "We row hours each day because we enjoy it, which forces us to stay on top of schoolwork."

"More than a support system, my team has taught me how to depend on others, to trust others and how to work with other people in general." said Stillwell.

In one case, academics and rowing have even merged together.

"I helped develop a rowing training tool that measures the force application of a rower during the stroke," said Palacio. "After two semesters, we had a great concept, a working prototype, detailed financials and delivered a powerful presentation. It was a great way to bring together my schoolwork and my passion for rowing."

Being a Lehigh student-athlete isn't just about athletics, or just about academics. Everything comes together into developing young minds and bodies for future success in life. These four seniors are perfect examples of excelling in all areas, and they have been rewarded with exciting jobs. Even though they're going their separate ways, they will always have the bond of being part of the class of 2014.

These seniors have left the program in better shape than they found it.

"I couldn't be more excited about how bright the future of Lehigh rowing is," said Smith. "The underclassmen are committed, hardworking, and talented and I can't wait to see the new heights they take Lehigh rowing to in the future. I'm certainly looking forward to following their progress in the coming years."

Completed Event: Men's Rowing versus MARC Championships on May 2, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing at Rutgers University on April 18, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing at Knecht Cup on April 11, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing at Bucknell and Fordham on April 4, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing versus Mountain Hawk Invite on March 28, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing at Drexel on March 14, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Men's Rowing versus Class Day Regatta on November 1, 2025 ,

Lehigh University Athletics

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