The following is a spotlight on Julia Fortin, one of two 2023 University of Rhode Island nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 17 outstanding student-athletes for the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will spotlight each of the institutional nominees.

She raced in ever regatta the Rams competed in from her sophomore year until graduation (2020-2023) and participated in the 2019, 2021 and 2022 NCAA Rowing

Championships after helping Rhody win three straight A-10 titles. In 2023 she was named Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team.

Fortin completed her undergraduate studies in May of 2022, finishing Magna Cum Laude with two degrees. She was one the Dean's List for six semesters, was a member of the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. She finished her accelerated graduate program in communications with perfect marks. She also was a CRCA Scholar-Athlete in 2022 and the URI Rowing Scholar-Athlete in 2023.

Fortin volunteered with Rhody Reads, was the team leaders for rowing at URI's Girls in Sports Event. She organizaed the Rhode Island female coaches to be part of a panel on Women in Sports and she served as a Student-Athlete Orientation Leader.

Julia Fortin Profile

Julia Fortin was the recipient of the 2023 Elizabeth Holmes Award, which recognizes the most outstanding graduating female student-athlete at URI.

Q & A

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of everything that led to being awarded the Elizabeth Holmes Award. It is awarded to one graduating female athlete for athletic and academic excellence, voted on by the URI athletics faculty. It was an award I never anticipated but all of my hard work being recognized made me unbelievably proud of my time at URI.

What was the hardest obstacle you faced as a student-athlete?

For me, COVID was extremely challenging. In rowing, we depend so much on the other people in the boat. You can’t win alone, so when we were sent home and we had to do our workouts all alone at the height of our season. It was

unbelievably discouraging, and losing that championship season was heartbreaking.

Who or What has been your biggest inspiration or motivation?

Throughout college, my teammates have always been my biggest inspiration. No matter what I knew we had each other’s backs, through thick and thin they would support me. At the end of the day I wanted to be my best for them, and I believe they wanted to be their best for me.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received? The worst?

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was from my Coach Jess “You can’t cheat the work” in rowing it’s something that resonated with my entire team, but I’ve taken that piece of advice into my everyday life. I try to put my best foot forward and not skip around the challenging parts of life, rather try and embrace them.

What are the top three things on your bucket list?

In no particular order, I would say three things on my bucket list are:

• Travel to Greece
  
• Go scuba diving somewhere tropical
  
• Learn to snowboard
  

What do you think is the most important issue for student-athletes today?

Student-athletes fight battles with their mental health, their physical health, or their academic standings every day. However, only female athletes experience a lack of recognition, attendance, and support from those around them when it comes to their sport. Due to societal normalities, men’s sports are constantly given the spotlight in attendance, peer support, and funding. As a female athlete, I believe female athletics must become as important to the public as male athletics to create change in the way people perceive female athletes.

What would you consider the top moment of your college career?

The top moment of my college career was winning A-10s as a senior. It was a dramatic race in the pouring rain, and I was able to achieve it with my fellow seniors I had been on a team for four years with. When we crossed the line first the exhaustion I was experiencing along with the excitement was a mix of feelings I don’t think I can ever recreate. Four years of hard work being rewarded with a victory in the top varsity boat was my top moment in college.