During my time on the UPenn Sailing Team we built the program from the ground up. In four years both our co-ed and women’s team went from being unranked to consistently ranked within the top 20 collegiate teams in the nation. Through this experience I learned what it meant to be a competitor, teammate, peer, and leader. I, personally, and the team faced countless obstacles and challenges in which I had to come up with creative solutions. I learned to strategize and delegate responsibilities with my teammates, take on projects independently when appropriate, and engage external stakeholders to gain political support within the school and to secure the necessary financial support.