Kasavana mixes business with pleasure

Senior Emily Kasavana has an enthusiasm for the world that knows no bounds. She carries a natural keenness about her – an extreme gusto that is rivaled only by her work ethic.

Now in her second year as co-captain for the rowing team, Kasavana discovered the sport her freshman year. That year, she was the only pure novice on the team to row for varsity.

Sophomore Taylor Smith looked back to her first interaction with Kasavana and couldn’t agree more.

“I can remember seeing her at the first call-out meeting and just really being able to sense her passion and enthusiasm for the sport,” she said.

Once Kasavana is committed to something, she’s all-in.

“The thing we noticed right off the bat with her was her competitiveness, her drive,” IU rowing coach Steve Peterson said.

Indeed, as a second-team all Big Ten performer last year, it’s Kasavana’s intangibles that set her apart. But these merits characterize her well beyond the playing field.

From Williamston, Mich., Kasavana was valedictorian of her high school graduating class. Majoring in business economics and public policy, she was a direct admit to the Kelley School of Business. At the end of her freshman year, she was admitted to the Mitte Honors Business Program.

Kasavana, who carries a 3.98 GPA, is also a member of the Mitte Scholars Society and the Kelley School of Business Consulting Workshop.

Professor Goeffrey Sprinkle, director of the honors business program, had Kasavana for an honors managerial accounting class.

Sprinkle said he appreciated the positive attitude she had regarding obstacles and specified her determination as a valuable asset. Proud to see her develop over the years, Sprinkle said she has grown into a great leader and independent thinker.

“The thing that makes a great captain – and makes Emily a great captain – is that she knows this is her team,” Peterson said, who urges all of his athletes to take a personal stake in the team.

More notably, Kasavana is a leader because of the way she acts, not because of her title, Peterson added.

However, Kasavana’s leadership extends beyond the classroom and rowing.

Currently in her second year as president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Kasavana sets an example for all student-athletes on campus, not just the rowers.

“I got involved with it my freshman and sophomore year and enjoyed it so much that I pushed forward with it,” Kasavana said.

She began her freshman year as a rowing representative and then moved to treasurer her sophomore year before becoming president.

With all of these diverse activities, Kasavana’s universal enthusiasm and unending motivation apply to most anything she sets her mind to.

“Life’s too short to not be passionate,” Kasavana said.

Surrounding herself with the right people is also paramount to her.

“It’s a lot easier to work hard when you’re having fun or when you are with a group of people who are pushing you to go harder, and I think that’s the one thing that the business school and the rowing team offer,” Kasavana said.

With a busy schedule like hers, it’s hard to believe Kasavana thinks 10 minutes ahead, but she already has a job lined up when she graduates later this school year. Not long after an internship last summer with consulting firm Bain and Company, she was officially hired by their Chicago office.

With the post-graduate job search out of the way, her biggest hurdle now, school aside, is helping deliver success to the rowing team.

Helping is Kasavana’s forte, Smith said.

“She’s always thinking of how she can help support others, in addition to pushing herself to her own limits,” Smith said. “As a teammate, that’s great because you can push yourself, that’s for sure, but pushing your teammates at the same time, that’s what really creates a team sport.”

Obviously, improvement won’t come easy – and, quite possibly, Kasavana wouldn’t have it any other way.

“She embraces challenge,”  Peterson said.

With an attitude like hers, that’s not exactly shocking news.

What would be surprising though, is if she didn’t succeed.

“She’s going to go out on a bang,” Peterson said, “and she’s going to make sure this team goes out on a bang with her.”