Senior Spotlight: Maddie Omeltchenko

The Carolina Rowing Senior Spotlight series continues with Maddie Omeltchenko. All interviews are by junior Margaret High.
Read past ones here (on Caitlin Beakes) and here (on Jackie Kenny) and check back soon for the next in the series!

Madeline Omeltchenko has been rowing at UNC for the three years. She hails from Port Washington, New York. When she's not rowing, Omeltchenko is either baking bread for her blog or working on her graduate-school PR team with the Journalism school.

She was part of the 3V8 that was recently named ACC Crew of the Week. Her friends affectionately call her Maddie O.

How long have you been rowing?
I started rowing my sophomore year of high school.

How did you get into rowing?
A club team, Friends of Port Rowing, started in my town my freshman year. I had some friends who really enjoyed it so I decided to try it the following Fall. I remember really liking it but also thinking it was stupid hard, which I guess is how I still feel.

What's your favorite thing about the sport?
The people for sure. I've made some of my best friends through rowing. It's so nice to go to practice and see people who are just fun to spend time with.

What's your favorite rowing memory?
My novice year we were at Knecht Cup and it was just above freezing and it was rainy and windy - all around awful conditions. The races were delayed so we sat at the start for probably 30 minutes. It was so miserable but it's funny to look back on.

What's your major and why?
I'm in the environment and science communication dual degree program at UNC so I'm getting my bachelor's in environmental studies and I'm in my first year of a mass communications master's. I'm passionate about sustainability and the ability for business to help solve environmental issues. I want to go into communications/marketing for businesses that have a sustainability focus.

What was it like transferring?
I think it was honestly a lot easier than it could have been because of rowing. I was a bit nervous starting over after my freshman year at UMD, but I made great friends with my teammates and some other transfer students. UNC was where I really wanted to go to school and I remember walking through campus on FDOC and feeling incredibly grateful. I still feel so lucky to be here.

What's your favorite thing about UNC?
Probably how friendly and nice the people are. Everyone holds the door open for one another and strangers will smile at you, which is super strange coming from NY.

What's your favorite food to eat? To cook?
My favorite food to eat is my mom's double chocolate cake - we only get it for birthdays. My favorite thing to make is either this spiced chocolate bread or eggs. I really like making fried eggs. There's a joke with some of my teammates that I don't leave my house without making a fried egg.

I'm also getting into bread baking. I started a food blog about it for class that I'm having a lot of fun with. It's loaves-and-such.com, please everyone subscribe so it's not just my grandma and Bridget Tarnowski reading it.

When did you realized you loved cooking?
I've loved baking since I was really little helping my mom make chocolate chip pancakes on the weekend. I didn't really start cooking until moving off campus but now I love when my bud Paige Colpo and I get to cook together on Sunday nights.

Who is someone you wish you could be?
Julia Child because she got to live in France cooking and talking with people at the market all day. She was also a fearless cook and never apologized for her food, even if it turned out terribly.

What's an issue you care most about and why?
Climate change because there are so many unknowns about the future of our planet and we're not doing enough to stop catastrophic warming.

Where's your favorite place you've traveled?
Florence. I'd give just about anything for some good gelato and pizza right now.

What's your favorite song right now?
Arms' cover of Ooh La La by Rod Stewart.

If you were stranded on an island, what three movies would you bring?
Back to the Future, The Devil Wears Prada, and Cast Away to get some hope from Tom Hanks.

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Paige Colpo

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Maddie Omeltchenko

Bridget Tarnowski

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