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John Boccacino: Hello, and welcome back to the Cuse Conversations podcast. My name is John Boccacino, the communications specialist in Syracuse University's office of alumni engagement. I earned my bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the SI Newhouse School of public communications in 2003, and later received my executive master's degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of citizenship and public affairs in 2020. You can find our podcast on all of your major podcasting platforms, including Apple podcasts, Google play, and Spotify. You can also find our podcast at alumni.syr.edu/cuseconversations, and anchor.fm/cuseconversations.

Kate Ryan: Being a student athlete has definitely helped in the classroom. I think it's really easy to say that being a student athlete makes it challenging to get your degree done. The team sets a really high standard for being excellent in the classroom. And I think we hold ourselves to a pretty high standard for getting our work done, and doing well in the classes, and engaging with each other. And I also think that being a student athlete has taught me to be present in what I'm doing, and take it one step at a time, much like, with rowing, you take it one stroke at a time.

John Boccacino: Well, today on the podcast, we are welcoming on a junior member of the rowing team. Her name is Kate Ryan. She is a biology major. She is an outstanding student athlete for the Syracuse Orange, but she has so much more than just being a talented member of the rowing team to share with us here on the alumni podcast. Kate, before we get to your story, I want to say thank you for joining us today.

Kate Ryan: Thank you for having me.

John Boccacino: So, you're actually not the first rower we've had on the podcast, by the way. We had Hattie Taylor on during the fall. And she was sharing her perspectives on going for those Olympic dreams in Tokyo. So, you've got some big shoes to fill, but I'm pretty confident your story is going to resonate with our audience.

John Boccacino: So, tell us a little bit about yourself, Kate. I know we mentioned you being a rower, you're a biology major. What drew you to Syracuse University in the first place?

Kate Ryan: Well, I was really drawn to Syracuse because of the opportunities that it had just beyond the rowing team. I really loved how large the biology department was. And I liked that there were a lot of opportunities for students to get involved with different professors, whether it be research or clubs. And I really liked that I didn't feel limited or trapped into any sort of box, entering a really large biology department like Syracuse.

John Boccacino: On your cuse.com bio to, expand upon thought, you mentioned you chose Syracuse because of the limitless opportunities that the community provides to

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its student athletes. Can you go a little more in depth into what some of those opportunities have been that you've been afforded as a student athlete here?

Kate Ryan: Well, something that comes to mind first is my involvement with young scholars, which is something that a lot of us on the rowing team are involved with. One of my good friends, Grace, is in charge of the program right now. And we tutor youth from the city of Syracuse. And we help them with their homework, whether it be math, science, reading. But we also like to play a lot of games, to play basketball, color, paint, just kind of have fun with the kids, learn good study skills, and kind of just engage with the community more.

John Boccacino: I know that time is extremely precious. As a student athlete, you're balancing academics, you're balancing athletics, and you're getting involved with these young scholars. What made you want to join that pursuit and give back to the members of the Syracuse community?

Kate Ryan: I think something that I've really learned to love as a student athlete is being able to compartmentalize my time. And I've found that, for the most part, with the exception of maybe finals week, you can always find time to do what you want to do, and to just make sure that, while you're at the event, whether it be while you're at class, while you're at practice, or if you're doing a community outreach program, to just be present in the moment, and to commit all that you have in that time.

John Boccacino: Those are really valuable lessons that apply to any walk of life, whether you're a student or whether you graduated 50 years ago from Syracuse. I'm glad to hear that you've got a good head on your shoulders when it comes to time management. Because, as I alluded to earlier, it can be extremely strenuous to succeed just at college. When you factor in being a student athlete on top, what's your best tip for time management, how you go through your day and make sure that you can succeed in all your pursuits?

Kate Ryan: I would say my best tip is making calendar, writing things down. I always look forward to the beginning of the semester. So, this week, where I'll take every single assignment, whether it's a 10 page paper or a paragraph that I have to submit, and I put it all in one Excel sheet, sot it by date, color code it. And just really staying organized helps me a lot.

John Boccacino: I could imagine that attention to detail really pays off for itself. And again, with your being a straight A student here at Syracuse, the proof is really in the pudding. You mentioned the biology program. Before we get to your rowing accomplishments, I want to focus on the bio part of your student athlete career here at Syracuse.

John Boccacino: So, take me through your goals as a biology major. What did you hope to accomplish this degree? And how has that played itself out during your first three years?

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Kate Ryan: It's actually interesting, because I find that my goals have changed a lot throughout being at Syracuse. I applied to Syracuse, and kind of began my freshman year here, with the full intention of going to medical school after college. I'd wanted to be a doctor since maybe middle school. And so, I took the premed classes, the intro biology classes. And I really started to fall in love with the ecology side of biology and understanding plants. And I think they're a really underrated topic of study. Everyone's really interested in anatomy, and understanding how muscles move, and how people move.

Kate Ryan: But I think plants are so intricate, and they're so important to our world. So, I really started to branch more into the ecology side of the biology department. And then, from there, I started thinking more about what I wanted my career to be, and how I wanted to apply what I was learning, and also how I wanted to learn. And something that really started to frustrate me my freshman year was the fact that so many of my grades were determined by what percentage of the textbook I could memorize. And there were just so many multiple choice tests. And I really kind of felt robotic in my learning.

Kate Ryan: So, with that, I kind of looked at what classes I really started to enjoy. And that was the philosophy and the writing. And I really liked thinking about the biology. So, from there, I kind of shifted to studying more policy and studying how I, as someone with a science background, someone who loves science, loves understanding graphs and data, and seeing how I can apply that to writing and outreach and policy.

John Boccacino: It's fascinating. And you're well within your rights. I'm happy to hear you say the evolution, because... Yes, there's people that come in at school and they know exactly what they want to do from day one, but there's a lot to be said for adapting and adjusting what you want to study based on your interests.

John Boccacino: And I'm happy to hear you found a passion with ecology. And really, it is an underrated topic. We hear all the time people talking about climate change. And that's its own separate category. When it comes to ecology, what are your observations for how dire the situation happens to be. And what you might hope to bring to the fight?

Kate Ryan: I think ecology kind of provides a really good basis for understanding climate change. And if you look at the building blocks of life, the cells, the soil, you can really see climate change from a very small scale. One of my favorite labs that I've ever done was a soil lab where we studied soil microbes. And we gained a really good understanding of how soil health is really important, not only to the trees that grow, and capture carbon, and help to clean our atmosphere, but also to our food systems, and how a lot of our current food production systems are pretty messed up because the soil is really unhealthy.

Kate Ryan: So, I would say just ecology can really help to... If you... It helps to understand the data. It's really easy to say that we need to lower our global climate

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warming by 2% by 2040. But understanding why that is, and understanding the processes which contribute to that goal, I think, are really important.

John Boccacino: Was there a seminal moment where the light bulb went off and you realize that... Because I have to imagine it's not something where you just wake up and think you want to get committed to the soil, and the potency of the soil, and making sure that there's a lack of chemicals. What was that moment that led you down this path, if there was one?

Kate Ryan: I'm not sure there was an exact moment, but I wish there was. Something that I do think about when I think about my education is that I didn't know anything about climate change or environmental science in high school. I didn't take any classes. I come from a really small high school. So, the basic classes were kind of my only option.

Kate Ryan: And they don't really go over climate change in high school. And I'm not really sure if that was a conscious choice, or if there wasn't room in the curriculum for that. But I think just taking the... I think it was just the basic ecology and evolution class freshman year of college was what turned me on to understanding climate change and really caring about it.

John Boccacino: How have your professors and faculty here at Syracuse and in the biology department... How have they helped to cultivate, to literally bring out that passion that you've got for this subject?

Kate Ryan: The professors here do a really nice job of wanting to get to know their students. I have had a frustrating time getting into the office hour sometimes, being a student athlete. However, the biology faculty here is really open to being able to meet outside of their office hours. And another kind of positive note of the ecology program is that the class sizes are very small. So, I'm in a class right now of 12 people. And it's really, really fun to just get to know your [inaudible 00:12:04] and your students really well. And I think, with those small class sizes, it provides a lot more flexibility to the program. And if you want to study a certain subject or read a certain paper, the faculty are really open to kind of getting to choose what you learn.

John Boccacino: It's great to hear that the academic models are, again, adjustable and moldable to... and they should be, to your interests into what your passions, where they lie. I've been told, speaking of passions, that you are pretty passionate about eradicating mercury exposure, particularly in fish.

John Boccacino: You talk about something that affects everybody because I love fish. A lot of people listening to the podcast enjoy their fish. And this is kind of a hidden danger that they might be putting themselves at risk to when it comes to enjoying some of their favorite foods. Connect the dots for us. How did this become something that you really wanted to get involved with?

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Kate Ryan: So, I think it was in the spring of my freshman year, they announced that they're running this class through the honors program called The Role of Science in Environmental Governance. And I had never heard of that. I had never... I never knew that there were scientists involved in policymaking at the actual policy events.

Kate Ryan: I just had this understanding that the scientists gave the data to the policy makers. And the policy makers ran with that. So, I ended up applying to this class. And I got in. And the professor who designed the entire class is an expert in environmental mercury cycling. And so, I actually spent the entire semester studying mercury pollution and studying the policy around that.

John Boccacino: How big of an issue is it in this country and across the world? Are we alone in having a mercury exposure issue in the States? Or is this kind of a common problem around the world?

Kate Ryan: We are certainly not alone in this problem. And it's actually experienced more heavily in a lot of other parts of the world. Something that's really unique about mercury pollution is that it does cycle through the environment, very similarly to how water cycles through the environment. So, the effects of mercury pollution, which is contamination, mostly in fish, through...

Kate Ryan: Little fish will accumulate mercury from the water. And then, as bigger fish eat the little fish, that mercury content increases throughout the system until humans eat it... eat the fish. So, it's really interesting that a lot of times the countries that will emit the most mercury, or have the greatest pollutant and spillage, are not actually the countries who are most reliant on fish in their diets. So, it was really interesting to kind of see that juxtaposition between those who are responsible for this mercury pollution and those who are suffering the most.

John Boccacino: And how does mercury exposure manifest itself as far as a day-to-day problem? For example, when someone does happen to eat a fish, if there is mercury exposure, how would they notice? What type of side effects, what kind of role does that exposure play?

Kate Ryan: So, it's a pretty slow accumulation. If you eat one fish with mercury in it, you are not going to die. You're not going to experience any serious health effects right away. The larger problem is in countries where fish is essential to people's diets, and they eat that fish every single day. And it accumulates in your body because it does not really metabolize like other things that we eat.

Kate Ryan: So, humans that do eat fish every day and up having fertility issues. There's sometimes neurological damage. And it's something that is generally good to avoid because our bodies just can't metabolize it properly. And so, that's why a lot of times there are fishing regulations. Even, I believe, in New York state and Onondaga, I think there are regulations based on how many times you should

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be eating fish, per week, that you catch, because of things like metal contamination, mercury contamination.

John Boccacino: It's really interesting to hear you talk about something that we might take for granted, not having the exposure to the studies that you have had through your biology and your ecology programs. What can be done to reverse this problem of mercury exposure, especially when it comes to...

John Boccacino: Because look, I don't want to be eating contaminants that are eventually going to eat away, and I can't metabolize and break down the mercury in my system. We want to find a solution to this. So, what is that solution? How do we correct our course?

Kate Ryan: Right. So, it's actually really challenging to remove mercury from ecosystems, because it's just this free floating body that's found in water a lot. And water is really hard to clean up because you can't just take a giant bucket and start cleaning it up.

Kate Ryan: So, there are a few different ways that you can fix mercury. And a lot of times... Something that comes to mind most is the process of capping and dredging, where you'll basically dig up a kind of hole in a lake, or a river, and bury the contaminants under a lake, and then it's capped. And then, the mercury will kind of go away.

John Boccacino: Again, I'm really appreciating, Kate, the pulling back of the curtain to discuss this problem and how big of an impact it can have on our societies. And I'm really happy to hear that you have found a calling with this line of work, because we clearly need people who are dedicated to solving this issue.

John Boccacino: Before the pandemic struck, I want to take you back a little bit to an experience you had overseas in Switzerland. You were part of a select group of honors students who got to attend the conference of the parties to the Minamata convention on mercury. It's a place in Geneva, Switzerland. And it's a huge honor. How were you selected for this distinction? And what was that experience like?

Kate Ryan: So, I applied to this class in the spring of my freshman year. And the honors program selected... I believe there were 10 students that ended up getting to be involved in this class. And we spent the entire semester, building up to Thanksgiving, reading scientific articles, reading different texts that explained mercury pollution, and also how scientists can be involved in policy decisions. And we even had this simulation where each person in the class had to represent a country, or a union, or a group of states that was going to make a policy to help clean up global mercury pollution.

Kate Ryan: So, we did the simulation to prepare ourselves to attend this conference. And then, over Thanksgiving, we all traveled to Switzerland. And we got to sit at this

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conference. And it was really fun, because we got to wear the UN headsets that did the... whatever language was being spoken at the time and translate it to English. It was really exciting because I had no idea how that worked. But it was very cool. And so, we basically watched the conference. And every single day, there was larger sessions where all of the stakeholders and policy makers were sitting in the same room and discussing, or summarizing, what they had gone over in smaller groups previously that day or at night.

Kate Ryan: And I was very impressed because this conference was not like a normal workday conference. These delegates arrived at the conference at 7:00 AM, and sometimes did not leave until 3:00 AM or midnight. They were so passionate about getting policy written and getting things done.

John Boccacino: When it comes to policy making, it's a... I'm going to preach to the choir when I say this, but it's hard because you're trying to get multiple stakeholders to agree to things that might not have the same impact on country A as it does on country B. What did you learn about setting policy, collaborating, and how the policy makers find success, especially when it comes to a topic that can be as vague and murky as the mercury issue?

Kate Ryan: Something that I learned at the conference, and even in the simulation that we had practiced before attending the conference, is that I think it's a really big misconception that countries don't want to change. And this applies to climate change policy as well. I think there's a huge misconception in the world that countries don't want to try, or they don't want to make a difference, they're not moving fast enough.

Kate Ryan: But something that really resonated with me at the conference is that every single person in that room wants the world to be a perfect place. Every single person wanted mercury to be out of the environment by next year. But when it comes to policy making, they have these set boundaries that countries, or whatever party they're representing, says, "No. You cannot compromise on this issue." So, it became apparent to me that policy is less about finding a middle ground as it is about finding any ground that everyone can stand on.

John Boccacino: No, that's a valuable lesson, a valuable takeaway, that again applies to any walk of life. You've got to find that middle ground. You've got to find a way that people can come together, because you're right. They're all in this for the same purpose. And they want to achieve... No one's sitting around there thinking, "Boy, I'd love our temperature across the planet to increase by three degrees over the next 200 years."

John Boccacino: No one's sitting there thinking that. They want to find a way to achieve results and get a solution to this problem. And I almost feel like, Kate, your energy is so infectious when it comes to what you want to do. You tackle a problem and you find a solution to it, and you find a way to make it work. Where do you see

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yourself in 10 years, with this degree from Syracuse, with your passions? Where will Kate Ryan be, say, in 2031?

Kate Ryan: Well, I'm definitely still trying to figure it out. I ideally would love to be involved somewhere in science policy. And I feel like that career, that field, is still growing. So, while it was very easy for me in middle school and high school to say, "Oh, I want to be a doctor. In 10 years, I'm going to be a surgeon", with policymaking and with climate science, there aren't necessarily set in stone careers. But I just hope that I can find some position, whether it be in environmental law, or as a environmental scientist who can help to negotiate policy, or help to guide policy makers, that I can be somewhere in that arena.

John Boccacino: It is... And again, there's no right or wrong answer to that, Kate, because you're the author of your journey. You're going to really get to determine where you go, which is the beauty of having this Syracuse degree, and having this enthusiasm that you're going to bring into the real world when you graduate from Syracuse. I do want to, speaking of arenas, switch over to the athletics side of our conversation here on the podcast.

John Boccacino: And you're a member of the Syracuse women's rowing team, ranked eighth nationally after a really strong performance during the big 10 invitationals earlier in April. Congratulations on the top 10 ranking. What was it about Syracuse rowing that really called you when it came to... You mentioned biology, but rowing had to be part of that too. So, what did you like about the Orange when it came to their rowing program?

Kate Ryan: Yeah, rowing was absolutely one of the reasons why I found myself in Syracuse, New York. And I remember coming on my official visit here and absolutely falling in love with the infectious atmosphere. Every single teammate, every single person I talked to, felt like felt like home. And they felt like family. And it really struck me that it seemed every single person on the team was happy and wanted to go to practice, not because they had a scholarship putting them through college, or because they were going through the motions.

Kate Ryan: Every single person on this team brings their whole heart with them when they go to row. And they are not just teammates, but they're best friends. So, that was what really drew me in, was that, from the coaches, to the athletic stuff, to the trainers, every single person wants to relationship with each other beyond just being a team unit.

John Boccacino: Now, as a part of... And what I love about rowing is it's... More so than any other team sport out there, from this novice's impressions, there's cogs that are all contributing to the part of the team. And I love the metaphor that rowing serves, where if one person's off, if one person's not doing their duties, the boat is going to get held back. It's really such a team sport and a team concept. How do you fit into that team concept with your role on the team?

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Kate Ryan: I think it changes day by day, and also what seat I'm sitting in, who I'm with. But lately, I have really been seeing myself as someone who sets the rhythm and sets the tone at practice. I would not consider myself the one who cracks the jokes when we stop, or is the one who is overly competitive. But I think that I am a really stoic, focused person in the boat who is reliable, and just sets a good, reliable rhythm.

John Boccacino: Now, the question I'm going to ask you here, Kate, comes from having no rowing experience myself. When you look at other sports... For example, if you're a bad free throw shooter in basketball, you go to the charity stripe, you take a hundred free throws, and you try to work on your form. How do you get better in a boat at setting the tempo and keeping that tempo? How do you accomplish that?

Kate Ryan: I think that I accomplish it most by listening to the other eight people in my boat. I come from... Before I was a rower, I was a gymnast. And we all know gymnastics is a very individualized sport, so much so that it's one of the few NCAA championship sports where they give individual awards.

Kate Ryan: So, I think what's really special about rowing is you're really the best version of yourself, the best rower, when you can blend with the other eight people. And I think that that doesn't come from pulling hard, or trying to be the strongest person in the boat. It comes from listening to who's behind you, and just following who's in front of you, and just getting rid of all of the individual ideas that you may have.

John Boccacino: I know nothing has been normal since March of last year, March of 2020, when the pandemic struck. It's been a remarkable challenge and a hurdle for student athletes, and for athletics programs, to get back on the field and to get to compete. What has this year been like for you, competing with your friends and competing with the team, knowing what happened last spring and what that took away from you guys?

Kate Ryan: It's hard to think of a one word response to that question, because it... This year has been a lot of things. It has been very stressful, and honestly, sometimes really discouraging, especially with everyone living in the house and going to zoom class on their computers alone all day. It can definitely get lonely. But I would say that our team has also been really resilient.

Kate Ryan: And I've actually grown closer with a lot of my teammates, I think, because of the situation we've been put in, where we really can't see anyone or meet anyone beyond our teammates. So, I think it's been a really great opportunity for us to meet people that we wouldn't otherwise meet, or grab coffee with someone on the team who we might not have been best friends with before, but now we get coffee on a daily basis. Things like that.

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John Boccacino: Just how much of a release has it been for you and your teammates to... in this state of isolation, where you're in the house, you're going to classes through zoom, to get to gather for practices and for the regattas? How therapeutic has that been?

Kate Ryan: Yeah. I feel incredibly fortunate that we are able to race this spring, because I look back at some of my memories from where I was exactly a year ago. And it was sitting at my house by myself. Or if I was able to get outside or go rowing, it was in a single by myself. So, I feel incredibly fortunate that we are able to race, and honestly, just able to row with each other, able to see each other.

John Boccacino: Considering where we are in the season, the team is ranked eighth. It's the highest ranking the team has ever achieved in program history. There's still work to be done. What are your goals and expectations for this team for the ACCs coming up?

Kate Ryan: Well, the goal for ACCs is to win. That's kind of... That's our goal every season. But I think this year, with all of the work that we've put in since the fall, and every single stroke we take on the water, we're thinking about how can we take down UVA? How can we take down Duke? And how can we get our foul balls across the line first?

John Boccacino: It's definitely going to be a strong and a rigorous competition, but your team has again been training and preparing for this. And I think it's so great that you've got that perspective of, again, you didn't have this last year, and this year you're on the water. You're getting to compete. It's so great to hear you have that perspective when it comes to being a part of this team. When you reflect back on it, what would you say, if you had to pick out one or two, the career highlights from your time with the rowing team?

Kate Ryan: I would say one of my favorite career highlights was my freshman year. I was in the 3V racing against Princeton. And our coach gave us this really funny analogy about sacred cows, and how... I'm not sure exactly the phrase. However, basically, Princeton was ranked well above us. And we weren't expecting to lose, but we knew that it would be a really tough fight to win. And I was sitting in seventh seat right behind my stroke seat, Eliza Jaeger. And we went out against Princeton. We lined up.

Kate Ryan: And I remember being just absolutely fearless and just racing every single stroke. And we ended up winning that race. And I think back to that race a lot, at practice, before really any race, because... This year, I am once again seventh seat to my stroke, Eliza Jaeger. So, there's that continuity between those two races that I've been thinking about a lot this season. And it gives me a lot of confidence. And it makes me want to show up to practice every day, because I know that I can be successful with my pair partner.

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John Boccacino: Be fearless. Be confident. And give it your all. You can accomplish your goals. Again, these are valuable life lessons we're hearing from Kate Ryan, a member of the women's rowing team here at Syracuse University, a biology major, and someone who's really going to change the world, it feels like, when it comes to her take on ecology and the issue of mercury in our waters.

John Boccacino: Kate, from the podcast perspective, I want to thank you so much for your time, for joining us here on the podcast today. It's really been a pleasure getting to know you.

Kate Ryan: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

John Boccacino: Thanks for checking out the latest installment of the Cuse conversations podcast. My name is John Boccacino, signing off for the Cuse conversations podcast.

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