By: Gabe Taylor '12
Early mornings and long practice hours failed to interrupt Katie Caudle's (KC) internship and job hunt. Balancing rowing with school paid off as Caudle landed a full-time job at Accenture after interning with the company prior to her senior year. Caudle sat down with SantaClaraBroncos.com (SCB) to discuss her decision to join the Bronco rowing team, and how she managed to secure a job while juggling a plateful of responsibilities.
SCB: Why did you decide to join the crew team here after your freshman year?
KC: My freshman year I was hanging out with some friends and we were long-boarding in the Leavey parking lot. The rowing trailer was loaded after a race and I saw that and I got really nostalgic. I missed the team, and I missed the sport, and I missed being in shape, so I decided that I was absolutely going to get involved again.
SCB: How difficult was it to change your schedule and start waking up so early for practice at 5:30 am on Lexington Reservoir?
KC: That was new even for me. Even though I rowed in high school we practiced at 3:30 in the afternoon, so it was kind of intense. But I got used to it really quick. Once you do it for a few weeks it's all you know; you go to bed at 9 pm. It turns into your lifestyle. I like the feeling of getting up, getting my workout done and feeling good for the rest of the day.
SCB: With this being your last season, what have been your favorite parts about being on the team?
KC: There are a lot of things I love about it. I think there have to be for me to be getting up that early. But my favorite memories are always times I've had with the girls, and not necessarily race moments – those have been great too – but the times I've had with the girls and the bonds I've made.
SCB: Being a student-athlete, how did you balance trying to find a job with participating in a collegiate sport? Was it difficult getting the job with Accenture?
KC: I actually lucked out a ton, because I got it junior year as an internship and then before I even started classes this year – it was Monday of fall quarter – I got a call when I was at work and they said "Congratulations"! I actually think my job search was way easier than most of my peers, but I know junior year when I was looking for internships it was crazy. There were a couple of us doing internships and job interviews winter quarter of my junior year, and I remember vividly one morning we were in the van, soaking wet from practice, changing into suits for the interviews. I think all my interviewers understood and respected me more because I was balancing one more thing. I think rowing helped me out in that aspect.
SCB: How did you go about finding the internship?
KC: I'm in the retail management program and we had a career fair and Accenture was there. I actually was looking at more fashiony kind of retail jobs, but I was done and I had 15 more minutes, and I was like 'well, I guess I'll just go to the other booths.' The recruiter for Accenture was really engaging and she made it sound exciting. Once I started interviewing, everyone I met was just so great and were all really sharp people. Once I became more interested, I decided that that's what I wanted to do.
SCB: How excited are you to move back to Seattle?
KC: I'm pumped; I'm really excited. I'm going to be two blocks away from my old boat house so I will be able to keep rowing and working at the same time, which I'm really excited about.
SCB: Based on your experience here at SCU in terms of getting a job, do you have anything you would suggest to younger student-athletes?
KC: I think it's really important to find a balance on campus. I think it's really easy to get sucked into you sport and feel like you have time for nothing else, but I know it's because my involvement in the retail management program that I was able to get my job. I think it's really important to balance your time - whether it be with a sorority or fraternity or whatever it is - to find the time to do something else other than just your sport.
