Junior Guo Embraces the Challenges of Economics and Rowing

Junior Guo Embraces the Challenges of Economics and Rowing

30 June 2010 12:00AM

At first glance, a competitive sport like rowing and a major like economics couldn’t seem farther apart. Rowing conjures images of beautiful lakes and the great outdoors while economics seems to revolve around spreadsheets, graphs and being indoors.

However, both rowing and economics are mentally challenging. Rising junior Yangyang Guo knows this well as a member of the Duke rowing team and a double major in economics and international comparative studies.

“I was deciding between an undergraduate business school or a liberal arts program,” said the Rhode Island native on choosing Duke for her economics education. “It was between NYU Stern and Duke. I decided to go to Duke because it was farther from home.”

The 19-year old said she likes studying a mix of macro- and microeconomics including sustainable development, microfinance/microcredit and consumer behavior. A member of the math team in high school, Guo explained that she had always loved math until she enrolled at Duke and took a calculus class (Math 103).

“That killed me,” said Guo. “My advisor actually recommended that I take Math 102 since I was already sure that I wanted to be an econ major, and it would be easier, but I wanted to challenge myself.”

“What a bad idea. That was probably the hardest class I've ever taken,” she said.

Guo said she would like to take another math class, possibly in the spring, after she recovers from the damage done by her calculus class. According to Guo, instructors are what make a class worthwhile, not student interest.

“A lot of what makes a class enjoyable or not is the professor,” said Guo, who cited Intermediate Macroeconomics (Econ 110) as her favorite course. “My 110 prof, Professor Connolly, cared a lot and it showed. She tried really hard to get to know all the students by name even though there were about 200 students in the class.”

Guo reads economics related books and is a big fan of Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, the economist and author who writes for the New York Times. In addition to her academics and athletics, Guo is on the Presidential Committee for Campus Sustainability, a part of the initiative to make Duke carbon neutral.

The busy scholar-athlete is spending her summer as an intern with the Social Entrepreneur Corps through DukeEngage in Guatemala. DukeEngage is a university program that gives students opportunities to participate in an immersive community service experience either in the U.S. or abroad.

“There is a company called Soluciones Comunitarias here that is now owned by Guatemalans,” said Guo. “They sell things like water filters, solar lamps, and energy saving light bulbs to Guatemalans. This helps ensure that these much needed products reach consumers and also helps the entrepreneurs who sell the items make some money to support their families.”

“I am here to support this venture and do any consulting work as needed,” she explained. “I chose this program because of its relevance to econ and also because it had no language requirement. I came with no Spanish, but now I can get around pretty well, so the full immersion helped me learn really fast.”

Considering Guo’s willingness to work hard and challenge herself in the academic realm, it’s not surprising that her chosen sport is both mentally and physically exhausting at times.

“A lot of people think that rowing is just a sport that uses arms, but that could not be farther from the truth,” stated Guo. “More than 70 percent of the power comes from the legs since we have sliding seats. It requires power, endurance and quite a bit of insanity.”

The primary season for college rowing is in the spring, though training is year-round. Guo shared that practice often takes place on a rowing machine.

“We use that machine a lot, especially in the winter,” she said. “It is so hard mentally when you see a monitor in front of you displaying your speed after every stroke. You have to force your body to keep it steady and that is so excruciatingly painful.”

“You feel like your legs are about to fall off, and your lungs are on fire, and the monitor tells you that there are still 3K to go,” said Guo. “If you can conquer the rowing machine, you can conquer anything.”

Overcoming obstacles seems to be a specialty of this student athlete. Guo continues her academic and competitive conquests this fall.

Written by Carlton Koonce