Amelia Bell ’10 has given herself a difficult act to follow. One of three winners of the 2006-07 Ronald C. Hoffmann First-Year Scholar-Athlete Award last year, her first year as a collegian included outstanding accomplishments both in the classroom and as a member of the women’s crew team.

A graduate of Grant High School in Portland, Ore., Amelia rowed in the sixth seat on the Saint women’s novice eight boat which was the fastest Division III novice women’s crew in the country. She played a key role in an undefeated season for the novice boat in the spring of 2007, a season that saw wins in both the Liberty League and New York State Championships by open water. Competing in the ECAC National Invitational Championship regatta, Bell and her teammates posted the fastest time in their event, by five seconds.

She rowed throughout the year for the Saint crew program, participating in fall regattas, winter indoor training on erg machines and the spring championship season. The fall and spring seasons meant early-morning practices; the team typically leaves for its boat house a few minutes from campus in the pre-dawn hours and is on the St. Lawrence River as the sun rises for their daily workouts. As a sophomore, she has moved up to the women’s varsity eight boat, which had a solid series of fall races including a strong showing among Division III competitors in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston.

A Dean’s List designee in both semesters of her first year, she was honored at the Phi Beta Kappa induction as one of the top 25 students in the class of 2010. Amelia intends to major in government with a minor in African studies.