She gave up sleep, vacations and Final Exercises, and she’d do it again

May 14, 2026
Celia Cheng standing on a dock in her graduation gown.

Graduating UVA student Celia Cheng stands on a dock along the Rivanna Reservoir, where she has spent much of the past four years as coxswain for the UVA men’s club rowing team. Whether on the water or in a garden on Grounds, Cheng says she finds joy in all areas of her UVA experience. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

If Celia Cheng could write a letter to the pre-University of Virginia version of herself, it might come with a warning.

“You’re about to do a lot of stuff that doesn’t sound fun right now.”

Cheng, who will soon graduate from the University with an economics degree, has missed spring break trips, had her winter breaks cut short, deferred a coveted internship by a year and has had a 5:05 a.m. alarm set for pretty much each day of her college career.

Oh, and she won’t be in Charlottesville this weekend to walk the Lawn with the rest of the Class of 2026.

Cheng is the coxswain for UVA’s men’s club rowing team that, beginning Friday in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will defend its 2025 national crown in the American Collegiate Rowing Association regatta.

Candid of Celia Cheng working as the coxswain in a UVA men’s racing shell

UVA men’s club rowing coach Frank Biller says Cheng has elite coxswain skills. “She has incredible technical understanding,” Biller says. “She just knows how a boat moves.” (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“What I’ve learned about myself is something I hope I can replicate post-grad,” Cheng said. “If I really love something that I’m doing, I’ll do pretty much anything to commit to it.”

This weekend is the culmination of a rewarding, regret-free chapter of her life.

“If you had told me, ‘You’re going to miss this, this and that,’ and ‘You’re going to wake up at this time,’ I’d be like, ‘Oh, never mind. I’m not joining the team,’” Cheng said. “But now that I’ve experienced all the good of it, I’m so happy I did it.”

Because of rowing, Cheng never got to take a traditional spring break trip. But she did get to go to England last summer and have the “coolest 48 hours of my life” with the build-up and completion of a Henley Royal Regatta race against her sister, the coxswain for the Harvard University team.

Because of rowing, Cheng didn’t get many chances to sleep in. But now her iPhone is filled with photos of breathtaking sunrises above the Rivanna Reservoir.

And because of rowing, Cheng went from being a reserved individual to one ready to take on the world. This summer, she’s interning at Jefferies, an investment bank in New York. And after that, the Massachusetts native is off to London Business School.

“(Rowing has) given me more confidence in myself, where I can go do something and pursue what I enjoy without being afraid that I’m doing something out of the ordinary,” she said.

Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.
Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.

As a coxswain, Cheng doesn’t row. She faces the crew, steers the shell, sets the rowers’ cadence and serves as the team’s eyes, voice and strategist on the water. She’s been in this self-described “coach in the boat” role since high school.

UVA men’s club rowing coach Frank Biller thinks Cheng has Olympic potential and even suggested to her on several occasions that she try out to cox the Cavalier women’s rowing team, which offers scholarships and competes at the NCAA Division I level.

Each time, Cheng opted to stay on Biller’s side.

“She has had an amazing impact on our team,” said Biller, who typically recruits female coxswains because of the leadership dynamic they often bring to men’s crews. “We always say, ‘Don’t just be the best you can be. Make everyone around you better.’ That’s the real value of a teammate, the one who raises everyone else’s level.

Group photo of the graduating members of the UVA rowing teams with two oars across them and throwing their hats in the air

Members of UVA rowing teams celebrate graduation. Cheng, front left, serves as coxswain for UVA’s men’s club rowing team, which begins defense of its 2025 national title Friday at the American Collegiate Rowing Association regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (Contributed photo)

“And she is exactly that kind of person.”

Beyond rowing, Cheng has fully embraced life at UVA. When she hasn’t been representing the University on the water, she’s been on Grounds, soaking up all her soon-to-be alma mater has provided her.

“The other day, I peeled off into one of the gardens behind a pavilion and sat on the bench. The Grounds and this community are just so special,” Cheng said. “I couldn’t ever see myself anywhere else.”

Cheng has made lasting memories and close friends here – along with, perhaps, a few permanent habits.

“I’ve been thinking about how different it’ll be after I graduate,” she said. “I’ll be in a new city. I won’t have to wake up this early anymore.

“I could see myself sleeping in – maybe not waking up until 5:45 or 6.”

Media Contacts

Andrew Ramspacher

University News Senior Associate University Communications

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