Coxswain & J-sch Student—Joanne Liou
story by Jaime Loke
Photo by Emily Sy
Any good university strives to mold students into well-rounded individuals. It is the same here at the University of Texas -- but a journalist, fashion designer and a coxswain? That is one in a million.
Joanne Liou, a recent recipient of the Lloyd Allen David Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund in Journalism, is just that – a one in a million. An upcoming junior, she is double majoring in Journalism and Apparel Design. In addition to juggling classes for two very different majors, she attends the daily 5 a.m. practices as a coxswain with UT’s men’s varsity crew during the school year.
“It’s a unique job,” said Liou. “You’re given a lot of responsibility and there is a lot of pressure on you--especially during races.”
Before she signed up to be a coxswain, she rode on a few rides with the coaches on their boats and got a feel for what she would be signing up for. Since it is a rather tedious job, from the early morning practices to the pressure of making sure the entire crew is performing their best, the turnover rate is expectedly rather high.
“I remember initially when I was there, one of the guys said, ‘If you quit, I’ll kill you’,” said Liou as she laughs at the memory.
“Both of my friends who joined with me have quit but I’m still there,” said Liou. “It’s tiring and it takes up a lot of time but it’s very rewarding especially during races.”
“I think that’s why I’m still there, just for the races,” said Liou. “It’s exciting, in the heat of the moment the pressure is on you to push these guys to their limit and beyond.”
“I become like a coach for these guys in the race,” said Liou. “I tell them where we are in the race, the time that has gone by, the distance that has gone by and you point out to certain rowers if something needs to be fixed, call out commands and sometimes we call out a "power ten" which is like a surge of power to pass another boat or to the finish line.”
“I’ve always liked trying new things out so this (being a coxswain) is not too surprising for me,” said Liou.
Maybe it is Liou’s sense of never being afraid to try new things that has allowed her to also venture into the world of apparel design.
“I actually didn’t know that this (apparel design) was offered at UT until the end of my first semester here,” said Liou. “When I found out, I signed up for classes my second semester. I’ve always been very interested in creating things with my sewing machine, not just apparel but bracelets, watches, and other things like that.”
While she is enjoying her apparel design classes, she was surprised at how many required courses she needed to earn a second major in this field.
“It was not what I expected,” said Liou. “It blows my mind that it (apparel design) is in the College of Natural Ssciences so we have to do the requirements for that college which includes math, chemistry one and two and sometimes even calculus. It’s mind boggling!”
Liou’s passion for apparel design dates back to her high school years. “I remember going to garage sales and buying clothing and altering it to make it my own creation,” said Liou. “I don’t have one favorite clothing store, I usually just shop around for whatever I like.”
“When people hear that I am both a journalism and an apparel design major, they immediately think that I want to work for a fashion magazine like Vogue,” said Liou. “But in truth, I can’t see myself writing about fashion. I’m more into creating fashion, more hands-on and not so much analyzing it.”
“I think if I had my pick, I would like to start out in apparel design first after I graduate because I’m young and still in this young, creative mindset and will be more available to travel around if I need to,” said Liou. “And then, after a while, I would like to venture into journalism later on. I see myself in feature writing in journalism.”
“I hope to work with a designer that I would respond to, one that would appreciate my ideas,” said Liou. “Most of the major designers’ stuff are very out there, like stuff you see on the runway are not the kinds of designs that I would be interested in. I’m more interested in stuff that people can actually wear everyday.”
According to Liou, her next venture may take her into the newsroom of The Daily Texan.
“I’ve been looking into working on the special editions of The Daily Texan,” said Liou. “That would be something I’d like to be involved in next.”
With Liou keeping her plans on double majoring in journalism and apparel design, maintaining her position as varsity coxswain and getting involved with The Daily Texan, she will be kept as busy as she already is with the semesters ahead of her here at UT.