DAYTON – For University of Dayton senior rower and 4.0 GPA English major Maggie Cahill, being a part of the Flyers' NCAA Division I rowing program, she has found more than steadiness in a sport that can be so punishing, yet so rewarding. She's also found a resolve and confidence that was always there under the surface. Just as the oars cutting through the water propels the team toward their goal, being in the boat opened her soul. She discovered she was part of something bigger than herself – part of a team, all enduring and striving; part of a sisterhood, which is a big deal to this only child.

"The ability to all go toward a common goal in something that is very difficult to achieve, and that involves the sacrifices that we teammates have made for each other – because we've all given up things – is a remarkable thing. Rowing is the epitome of that.

"Teamwork has been a theme throughout my life and valuing the people who are around me," she added. "I really liked the idea of I can't move the boat alone. I need the other people in the boat to actually get to where we want to go."

That mentality, she thinks, stems from being an only child. Cahill was blessed to have unwavering love and support from her parents Tom and Cindy.
 
"My parents didn't think that they could have children so I was a surprise," said Cahill. "I definitely value my friendships and teammates and creating very strong relationships with people because I didn't have siblings.
"My parents have supported me in all of my endeavors and have always been my biggest fans," she added. "They are devoted to their Flyers and have attended pretty much every regatta. Their love motivates me to work hard every day in whatever I do."

Tom, the oldest of nine children and son of a World War II veteran, moved frequently due to his father's position at a steel company. Cindy is the eldest of four siblings and she and her family moved her senior year of high school. Due to these circumstances, both Maggie's parents wanted more stability for their only child. She was raised in the same house her entire life in Louisville, Ky. Her dad worked for GE but once she was born he became a stay-at-home dad, while her mom continued her employment at Humana.

She went to Catholic schools, received a great education, and participated in many sports such as volleyball, basketball, field hockey, tap dance, track and field, first at St. Agnes and then competitive swimming at Sacred Heart Academy. She was a four-year varsity letter winner, earning Academic All-State honors from 2014-2017 and Academic All-American honors in 2017.

"My mom was a cheerleader and that was the only thing she could do at her high school because there was no Title IX then. She would always remind me of that when I was little, and I think that was a reason why they wanted me to do a lot of sports," said Cahill. "Trying new things, specifically swimming is definitely a big reason why I tried rowing. Competitive swimming was something that I had never done before and then to see it all the way through, that reassured me that I would be able to do that again."

And she has with UD rowing, her path leading this way all along. It was her faith and asking God for a sign that ultimately led her to UD and then to the Flyer rowing program.

"I was on an overnight visit, where you have a sleepover in the Rec and I met this girl who ended up being my freshman year roommate," reminisced Cahill. "It was Palm Sunday and I had already gone to church that morning. Later that night, one of the options was to go to the Palm Sunday evening mass. And so I went to the mass. This girl, who I'd become really good friends with, ended up going too, and since it was important to me to keep the Catholic faith with me in college, I took that as my sign."

Cahill, who had not planned on competing in varsity athletics and was thinking of taking part in club swimming, was pulled toward rowing with two more signs.

The first sign: "I just wanted to focus on academics and then I saw a poster in the basement of Marycrest for rowing and thought it seemed interesting."

As is tradition for all UD students, she attended Up The Orgs, an annual event where each of the 240+ University of Dayton student organizations has the chance to promote their organization to all students.

The second sign: "I was walking around and, just by chance, I saw an oar sticking up in the sky. And so that's how I found the rowing table," said Cahill. "If I wouldn't have found that table, then I wouldn't have done it. It was all these little signs that just lined up perfectly for it to happen."

Following the signs got her here, but it was the human connection that kept her in the sport. Cahill found she needed this sisterhood of rowers. The Little Big reveal, a mentoring program in which a UD varsity rower is paired up with a novice rower, was the spark to building those relationships with her teammates (she was matched with Kaleigh Barkaszi).

"Seeing how much the team cared about each other and how much they cared about the sport, I realized this is something I want to be a part of and this is the college experience that I want to have," said Cahill. "I just feel so alive when I row, and I've been able to improve so much and commit myself to something that I didn't think that I'd ever be able to do. I have spent a lot of time on rowing, but I also wouldn't have it any other way."

She also spends a lot of time on her academics. Cahill is a 4.0 student-athlete, a two-time CRCA National Scholar-Athlete, and has been named to the Dayton All-Academic Team twice. Writing has always come natural to her. It's always been her favorite subject and she's been winning awards for her writing since kindergarten.

"Maggie is wise beyond her years and leads by example in everything she does," said UD rowing head coach Mike Wenker.

Due to COVID-19, her plans to study abroad last summer at Oxford University were derailed. She was hoping to utilize one of the world's oldest libraries to do research for her thesis on how publishing trends have changed with books from different time periods.

She made the best of the situation, putting her talents to work at a Spectrum News local affiliate station in Louisville, writing news stories for its website and more recently writing the news anchors' scripts. In addition to her schoolwork and rowing, she is also working as an editor on a second edition – the first edition she had done for classwork and they saw her talent and hired her for the next edition. The secret's out that she is one of the best copy editors out there so lots of teammates and friends ask her to review their papers too.

Rowing and writing are her skills, and she also gets immense satisfaction from serving. For the duration of three years she's been part of Big Brothers Big Sisters. She has sponsored two little sisters, working with them on reading every time they meet. It has helped with her vocational discernment, awakening her to the fact not everyone has had the same opportunities as her and that there aren't as many options in books that represent the girls she has worked with. She has always wanted to be a teacher, but her path diverged to English and publishing, where she is immensely talented.

"I've definitely learned a lot and it has also helped me realize that I want to work with other people to help them enjoy reading," she said. "It seems like there's something more that has brought me here and kept me here and now is pushing me out into the world. There are just certain things that have compelled me about this school that are almost beyond expression."

Some things can't be explained, but Cahill has God-given, writing talent to bring "simple words together to make people feel."

"The reason that I love language, reading, and writing is the power of words and how simple they are, but how much they can mean and just the things that they can convey to other people," she said.  "I feel like I have been given this gift of being able to put into words what it is people want to say, and helping them put into words, the things that they experience."

One of the toughest experiences all student-athletes have recently endured is the sudden end to their Spring 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was supposed to be a season of redemption for Cahill, who was named captain as a junior, and her teammates. They missed medaling at the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championships by less than a second.

"We were one place away from getting medals as a boat, and we also got fourth overall so were one place away from getting medals as a team," Cahill lamented.  "We were so close. We could have done it. So we devoted ourselves to doing it. Everyone trained and the way that we proved ourselves as a team and as a sport within the larger athletic community was just very inspiring to me and really made me appreciate how much this group of people, most of whom did not intend to row, how devoted, they could be to that.

"And that's why these past months has been frustrating for us in many different ways. But the biggest frustration was the way it just ended."

Cahill channeled her hurt, anger, and frustration into writing for and inspiring her fellow Flyers with the power of her words, urging them to rise to the occasion when that time approaches.
 
Row Again Rise Again (Link to Video)
Rowers train 365 days a year for a finish line they will never see.
 
Sometimes it sneaks up on us. Other times, it feels like an eternity away.
 
To train with certainty toward this uncertain finish line is to rise to the occasion.
 
As we arise each morning at 5:30, the sky explodes with streaks of purple and orange, reminding us of the glory in rising. Under the dripping heat of the August sun and the bright yellow leaves of the November sky, we rise. Drenched in pouring rain and frosted in gentle snow, we rise. Amidst the biting winds and the first blooms of spring, we rise.
 
When it's time to rise, we row. When it's time to row, we rise.
 
As our blades slice into flowing currents of the Great Miami River, our legs aching and our breath heavy, we seek to rise above mental barriers. When our hands become numb to the cold as we grip mighty oars to perform graceful movements, we find our focus in the stroke we repeat, day in and day out, over and over again, on the water and on the ergs. Each stroke is dedicated to the teammate in front of us, behind us, and in the legacy all around us.
 
Those who came before have shown us this tenacity. We persist for those who will come after.
 
Together, we become one unstoppable force. We feel each stroke in our bones; we pull with the pulse in our lungs. Discomfort is only as powerful as we allow it to be.
 
We might not be able to see the finish line right now, but we have faith in its existence. We trust that each stroke gets us closer. We train when no one is looking for the times when everyone is.
 
We will rise to the occasion. We will row again. And no one will ever have seen it coming.