SE: K-State Rowing, Architectural Engineering, ROTC All Help Set Up Cathy Leavitt's Future
Oct 18, 2017 | Rowing, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Every Monday, Cathy Leavitt rolls out of bed at 5 a.m., an hour before she must be at ROTC PT (Reserve Officers' Training Corps physical training), starting a non-stop day of commitments that will last until around 11 p.m.
From PT, she'll go to Tuttle Creek Lake for K-State's rowing practice, then to the Student-Athlete Performance Table for breakfast, campus for classes for five hours, the Intercollegiate Rowing Center for rehab work, the weight room for a workout, back to campus for an ROTC Honors Society meeting, and finally to either the engineering building or the Vanier Family Football Complex for academic work.
"That's kind of a typical day in the life of me," said Leavitt, a redshirt sophomore in the rowing program.
Leavitt is anything but typical, however. Her journey to K-State, the rowing team and the Air Force ROTC program, was not exactly normal, either.
'What if I Flew Planes?'
As a high school student in San Antonio, Texas, Leavitt was actively involved with Habitat For Humanity. Through her volunteer work with the non-profit organization, which included everything from building the frames to doing the dry wall, she became fascinated with the idea of studying architectural engineering in college.
"I love all the small little details," Leavitt said. "I love learning about everything, seeing how they put together everything."
With a highly-respected architectural engineering program, K-State made it near the top of her list of potential colleges. Plus, her parents both graduated from K-State. Even more, her visit on Junior Day played out like it was a script written for a K-State commercial.
"That story of when a high school student visits a college and they fall in love with the campus, yeah, that was definitely me," she said. "I came up for a Junior Day and it was just purple everywhere and I loved it. That's kind of how K-State became number one and my first pick."
Still, Leavitt wanted more from her college experience than an engineering degree. She also wanted to be involved with an ROTC program through the Navy or Air Force, an idea that randomly came to Leavitt during the summer after her junior year of high school.
"My mom was in the kitchen, and I was just sitting there and I asked out of the blue, 'What if I wanted to fly planes?'" recalled Leavitt, whose father flew helicopters for the Army and whose mother grew up in a military family. "It was kind of just a what-if, and then it led to me applying for national scholarships."
In the fall of her senior year, Leavitt applied for the National Navy and Air Force ROTC Scholarships, which led to interviews with generals and lieutenant colonels. She received both scholarships, leaving her two options: a full-ride to the University Colorado for the Navy or nearly a full-ride from the Air Force that allowed her to go to K-State.
"I was not as happy with visiting CU Boulder as I was with visiting K-State," Leavitt said. "So I chose the Air Force and I'm so happy I did."
Right for Rowing
If the load of architectural engineering and ROTC wasn't enough, Leavitt also became intrigued by another opportunity sent to her through the mail. It was a questionnaire for those potentially interested in rowing at K-State.
Leavitt, whose father rowed on K-State's club team, fit seemingly every requirement asked on the questionnaire. Specifically, she was tall, athletic, and had a proven work ethic.
At 6-foot, Leavitt earned 10 varsity letters between basketball, field hockey and track and field at St. Mary's Hall. This was on top of the abundance of extracurricular activities she was involved with in high school.
"I did almost anything that I could find to fit in my schedule because I love sports, and I was kind of sad that I hadn't really been recruited," she said. "I knew I wasn't awesome in any of those sports, but I wanted something to go into college with and rowing happened to come in."
Leavitt visited the IRC in June of 2015, saw the team's practice routine, and talked to the coaches about the program. The opportunity seemed perfect. Any thought of taking on too much was fleeting and quickly replaced by an enjoyment of being busy.
"In high school I was really involved with all my sports, really involved with my church, really involved volunteering… I tried to do everything," she said. "Coming up to K-State and doing an engineering degree, ROTC and rowing, it was kind of like I was just continuing what I was doing. Yeah, it fills my time but I like to be busy. I don't know what to do with free time."
Notably, rowing offered her the chance to stay involved with athletics and a team-first atmosphere. She realized this during her visit, so she decided to walk on to the team.
"The way (assistant coach Hanna Wiltfong) described it was that every girl on the team works hard and kicks their butt for the girl next to them, and I love that," Leavitt said. "That is why I have loved athletics since I was little. I'm working not for me but for the person standing next to me."
For the Future
Two years after taking on much more than most college students can handle, Leavitt said her daily schedule feels like a "normal routine." For the record, she knows it's not, but she makes it work.
Leavitt bases her life off three calendars: a specific planner she purchased on Amazon, with 8 ½ x 11-inch sheets of paper, as well as Google Calendar and a notepad app on her phone.
Additionally, Leavitt lays out her outfits for the next day the night before. From PT to rowing practice to class to ROTC, seeing these outfits gives her a visual for what the next day will bring.
"There's like four bags in my car, always," she said.
As time has gone on, Leavitt has moved up the ranks in rowing and ROTC. Both have helped normalize her routine a bit.
Leavitt, who rowed for the Wildcats' Third Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Four last spring, said she's gained the coaches' complete trust after two years of handling her intense workload. In ROTC, she's now an upper-level cadet with more freedom to pick and choose what activities she attends.
One ROTC event she did attend this summer was a LED (leadership, evaluation and development) field training camp, which lasted multiple weeks and included stops at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and Camp Shelby in Mississippi.
From this experience, Leavitt said she brought back a more complete understanding of leadership that can be used in all phases of life.
"The big takeaway I got from it is all leaders are different," she said. "In order to be successful as a leader, you have to have your toolbox and you have to have your different styles in there that you can comfortably lead with, because not everyone is going to respond to one specific style."
While Leavitt admits her schedule is anything but normal — "I'm nuts, it's OK," she said, laughing — she also points out how it all comes together for her future plans.
When she graduates from K-State, Leavitt looks to commission in the Air Force as a second lieutenant, receive a rated slot as a pilot, train for three years and begin a career of flying million-dollar planes.
Architectural engineering, she said, improves her chances at earning one of these rated slots. Rowing, which certainly adds many hours of commitments to her plate, benefits her life in many ways.
"I don't know what to do with that free time," she said, as K-State will compete at the Jayhawk Jamboree on Sunday in Lawrence. "I definitely wouldn't have the discipline with getting all of my homework at certain times. I wouldn't have discipline to go eat breakfast at this time, to go eat lunch at this time, to go eat dinner at this time. I wouldn't have the discipline to eat healthy.
"Seeing how much rowing impacts my day-to-day life, I love how much stronger I've gotten since I've been on the team. Taking that into ROTC, I am strong. I'm not a weak female who can't do my pushups. I'm really good at the PT tests and I like to be able to run with all the guys and be, like, 'No, I can beat you on this run.' It's just a sense of confidence that rowing gives me that I am good at something and I can achieve what I want to achieve."
Every Monday, Cathy Leavitt rolls out of bed at 5 a.m., an hour before she must be at ROTC PT (Reserve Officers' Training Corps physical training), starting a non-stop day of commitments that will last until around 11 p.m.
From PT, she'll go to Tuttle Creek Lake for K-State's rowing practice, then to the Student-Athlete Performance Table for breakfast, campus for classes for five hours, the Intercollegiate Rowing Center for rehab work, the weight room for a workout, back to campus for an ROTC Honors Society meeting, and finally to either the engineering building or the Vanier Family Football Complex for academic work.
"That's kind of a typical day in the life of me," said Leavitt, a redshirt sophomore in the rowing program.
Leavitt is anything but typical, however. Her journey to K-State, the rowing team and the Air Force ROTC program, was not exactly normal, either.
'What if I Flew Planes?'
As a high school student in San Antonio, Texas, Leavitt was actively involved with Habitat For Humanity. Through her volunteer work with the non-profit organization, which included everything from building the frames to doing the dry wall, she became fascinated with the idea of studying architectural engineering in college.
"I love all the small little details," Leavitt said. "I love learning about everything, seeing how they put together everything."
With a highly-respected architectural engineering program, K-State made it near the top of her list of potential colleges. Plus, her parents both graduated from K-State. Even more, her visit on Junior Day played out like it was a script written for a K-State commercial.
"That story of when a high school student visits a college and they fall in love with the campus, yeah, that was definitely me," she said. "I came up for a Junior Day and it was just purple everywhere and I loved it. That's kind of how K-State became number one and my first pick."
Still, Leavitt wanted more from her college experience than an engineering degree. She also wanted to be involved with an ROTC program through the Navy or Air Force, an idea that randomly came to Leavitt during the summer after her junior year of high school.
"My mom was in the kitchen, and I was just sitting there and I asked out of the blue, 'What if I wanted to fly planes?'" recalled Leavitt, whose father flew helicopters for the Army and whose mother grew up in a military family. "It was kind of just a what-if, and then it led to me applying for national scholarships."
In the fall of her senior year, Leavitt applied for the National Navy and Air Force ROTC Scholarships, which led to interviews with generals and lieutenant colonels. She received both scholarships, leaving her two options: a full-ride to the University Colorado for the Navy or nearly a full-ride from the Air Force that allowed her to go to K-State.
"I was not as happy with visiting CU Boulder as I was with visiting K-State," Leavitt said. "So I chose the Air Force and I'm so happy I did."
Right for Rowing
If the load of architectural engineering and ROTC wasn't enough, Leavitt also became intrigued by another opportunity sent to her through the mail. It was a questionnaire for those potentially interested in rowing at K-State.
Leavitt, whose father rowed on K-State's club team, fit seemingly every requirement asked on the questionnaire. Specifically, she was tall, athletic, and had a proven work ethic.
At 6-foot, Leavitt earned 10 varsity letters between basketball, field hockey and track and field at St. Mary's Hall. This was on top of the abundance of extracurricular activities she was involved with in high school.
"I did almost anything that I could find to fit in my schedule because I love sports, and I was kind of sad that I hadn't really been recruited," she said. "I knew I wasn't awesome in any of those sports, but I wanted something to go into college with and rowing happened to come in."
Leavitt visited the IRC in June of 2015, saw the team's practice routine, and talked to the coaches about the program. The opportunity seemed perfect. Any thought of taking on too much was fleeting and quickly replaced by an enjoyment of being busy.
"In high school I was really involved with all my sports, really involved with my church, really involved volunteering… I tried to do everything," she said. "Coming up to K-State and doing an engineering degree, ROTC and rowing, it was kind of like I was just continuing what I was doing. Yeah, it fills my time but I like to be busy. I don't know what to do with free time."
Notably, rowing offered her the chance to stay involved with athletics and a team-first atmosphere. She realized this during her visit, so she decided to walk on to the team.
"The way (assistant coach Hanna Wiltfong) described it was that every girl on the team works hard and kicks their butt for the girl next to them, and I love that," Leavitt said. "That is why I have loved athletics since I was little. I'm working not for me but for the person standing next to me."
For the Future
Two years after taking on much more than most college students can handle, Leavitt said her daily schedule feels like a "normal routine." For the record, she knows it's not, but she makes it work.
Leavitt bases her life off three calendars: a specific planner she purchased on Amazon, with 8 ½ x 11-inch sheets of paper, as well as Google Calendar and a notepad app on her phone.
Additionally, Leavitt lays out her outfits for the next day the night before. From PT to rowing practice to class to ROTC, seeing these outfits gives her a visual for what the next day will bring.
"There's like four bags in my car, always," she said.
As time has gone on, Leavitt has moved up the ranks in rowing and ROTC. Both have helped normalize her routine a bit.
Leavitt, who rowed for the Wildcats' Third Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Four last spring, said she's gained the coaches' complete trust after two years of handling her intense workload. In ROTC, she's now an upper-level cadet with more freedom to pick and choose what activities she attends.
One ROTC event she did attend this summer was a LED (leadership, evaluation and development) field training camp, which lasted multiple weeks and included stops at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and Camp Shelby in Mississippi.
From this experience, Leavitt said she brought back a more complete understanding of leadership that can be used in all phases of life.
"The big takeaway I got from it is all leaders are different," she said. "In order to be successful as a leader, you have to have your toolbox and you have to have your different styles in there that you can comfortably lead with, because not everyone is going to respond to one specific style."
While Leavitt admits her schedule is anything but normal — "I'm nuts, it's OK," she said, laughing — she also points out how it all comes together for her future plans.
When she graduates from K-State, Leavitt looks to commission in the Air Force as a second lieutenant, receive a rated slot as a pilot, train for three years and begin a career of flying million-dollar planes.
Architectural engineering, she said, improves her chances at earning one of these rated slots. Rowing, which certainly adds many hours of commitments to her plate, benefits her life in many ways.
"I don't know what to do with that free time," she said, as K-State will compete at the Jayhawk Jamboree on Sunday in Lawrence. "I definitely wouldn't have the discipline with getting all of my homework at certain times. I wouldn't have discipline to go eat breakfast at this time, to go eat lunch at this time, to go eat dinner at this time. I wouldn't have the discipline to eat healthy.
"Seeing how much rowing impacts my day-to-day life, I love how much stronger I've gotten since I've been on the team. Taking that into ROTC, I am strong. I'm not a weak female who can't do my pushups. I'm really good at the PT tests and I like to be able to run with all the guys and be, like, 'No, I can beat you on this run.' It's just a sense of confidence that rowing gives me that I am good at something and I can achieve what I want to achieve."
Players Mentioned
/ Rowing
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