Sustainable Success in Whatever She Does

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

Success at one singular point isn't easy. Success over time is even more challenging. That's where sustainability comes into the picture.

Defined as "the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level," sustainability is applicable to all aspects of life.

For senior student-athlete Elizabeth Gagliardi, her Lehigh rowing team enjoyed historic success last year. Her focus now is to keep that success sustainable into the future.

More to come on that…

The concept of sustainability is applicable off the water, too, as the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. native traveled to Costa Rica this summer to work at the Children's Eternal Rainforest.

"I wanted to get a glimpse at what I could do that involves sustainability, but also get to travel," said Gagliardi. "I applied for the Lehigh in Costa Rica program. In some of the internships, you're doing more field work, but I wanted to work with an NGO (Non-Government Organization) and work with people in the community. I worked in a lot of roles at the forest reserve, but mostly focused on blog posts, environmental education and some outreach in the community."

One of the biggest goals for Gagliardi was to increase awareness about the rainforest. Gagliardi did this in a number of ways.

"A lot of my blogs were aimed at English-speaking audiences, helping them learn about the Children's Eternal Rainforest and make them want to visit," she said. "I also worked on a big project during the middle-to-end of my time there, which could have been on anything I wanted. There was a big problem with bird strikes on their windows, so all these cool tropical birds lived there, including a lot of endangered species. The birds often fly into the windows at field stations and die or get injured."
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With sustainability of these birds in mind, Gagliardi thought of ways to help combat the issue.

"We put up chords on the windows that kept the birds from flying into them, then we made a poster to explain what it was for people visiting," she said.

An environmental studies and political science major, Gagliardi spent a lot of time exploring and learning about the reserve.

"It's 23,000 hectares, which is around 56,000 acres, and it's the largest private reserve in Costa Rica," she said. "Just being in the rainforest was a new experience for me, and I had to learn about the organization's (Children's Eternal Rainforest) mission, which is primarily land protection and conservation of their reserve. They also do a lot of work with outreach in the community. They have international partners and a big way they raise money is through visitors."

Visitors is where Gagliardi's blogs came into play, essentially marketing to the outside community and making them want to come. The more visitors, the more money raised, but also the more awareness drawn towards an important issue like sustainability in the environment.

"I wrote mostly about ecotourism, what it is and how the reserve is doing it," said Gagliardi. "In Costa Rica, they are very reliant on hydropower, so I wrote a post about how hydropower ties into the reserve and water protection. I also wrote a few fun profiles, including a species profile on leafcutter ants. I lived with a homestay family while I was there, so I wrote a little bit about my top five to-do list in Costa Rica as well."

Gagliardi went to Costa Rica with four other students from Lehigh, none of whom she previously knew. Three of the four other students were in a completely different internship altogether.

"I was really excited for the trip," said Gagliardi. "I actually did get a little homesick, which I was surprised about, but I was just excited to go visit a new country and get my hands dirty in my field of interest."

While she was in Costa Rica, Gagliardi didn't forget about another area of interest… rowing. Little did she know at the time, but by periodically checking-in with teammates about workouts, she was helping foster a culture of sustainability within Lehigh rowing.

"Checking in was as much for me as it was for them, just knowing that your teammates are doing the same work as you," said Gagliardi. "It helped us all stay motivated when we weren't together. It's so hard when you're not right next to your teammates to get up and go for a run. Knowing that everyone's out there working hard is motivating."

The Mountain Hawks have plenty of reason to be motivated. Leading the way was last year's Patriot League Championship regatta, which saw the women's rowers earn the first two medals in program history; the women's varsity four and second varsity eight each won bronze.

It was a long road for the Mountain Hawks to get to the point of medaling at Patriots, but they're going about the building process the right way, a way that should lead to continued – sustainable – success into the future.

"We've had some really strong leaders on our team who have invested a lot and empowered people below them," said Gagliardi. "See that vision, articulate it and get people excited about it. Teammates before me definitely instilled that, and hopefully we can keep building that moving forward."

What needs to happen to keep the momentum going into 2018-19 and beyond?

"We're not dwelling too much about where we were before, but articulating where we can be and these are the tools you need to get there," said Gagliardi. "We have a big freshman class this year, both recruits and walk-ons. They're on board and they know our goals. Just bringing the newcomers into the fold is exciting."

Gagliardi didn't enter Lehigh as a walk-on, but rather an experienced rower. In many ways, what she experienced this summer – being thrown into a foreign place with something she hadn't done before – is much like what the walk-ons are feeling.
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"I believe I gained patience and perspective of being somewhere you're completely unfamiliar with," said Gagliardi. "Maybe our walk-ons have played a sport before, but they've never been on a rowing team… similar to how I had never been out of the country."

"Liz's work this summer has allowed her to understand better than before that each athlete is coming to the program from a completely different set of values and experiences, which is important to our success, but can also be a challenge to get on the same page," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "Since Liz has taken this opportunity, you can see her really wanting to make sure everyone is on the same page, while also adapting her communication to what the team needs at the time. It's a difficult skill to learn and will be so valuable as we continue to work to make the program better."

Being out of the country led Gagliardi to personal growth that will pay dividends in all aspects of her life.

"I learned about a different style of life," she said. "It was challenging at first because I don't speak Spanish, but I definitely learned a lot. I was still connected to home; I had internet and things like that, but it was just a slower pace of life. I was in a rural area, so I learned to appreciate spending time with family and valuing the little things."

It's often the little things that make the difference between a healthy and unhealthy ecosystem, whether it's in the environment or within the Lehigh rowing program's "ecosystem."

"The organization was trying to establish an endowment fund so they could have funds to continue their environmental education program, which is like how we're trying to build up a team culture that carries for years to come," said Gagliardi. "Accountability is something that's huge on our rowing team, which I believe has helped move us over the past couple years, and should move us forward."

Moving forward is what Gagliardi is all about. She admittedly is still trying to figure out her exact next steps post-graduation, but there is time.

Regardless of the exact direction Gagliardi takes, we know what her focus will be… sustainable success in whatever she does.

"I know that Liz has set herself up for success because she has never once backed down from a challenge, whether that was on the water, erg or classroom," said Conley. "She searches out the opportunities to become a better person, teammate and citizen to whatever community she enters. I am excited to watch Liz continue to grow this year in her leadership, and only wish we could have her on the team for longer."

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Completed Event: Women's Rowing versus Patriot League Championships on May 15, 2026 , , 8th of 9

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Colgate on May 2, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Lake Wheeler Invite on April 24, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Knecht Cup on April 11, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Drexel and George Washington on April 4, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing versus Mountain Hawk Invite on March 28, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing versus Class Day Regatta on November 1, 2025 ,

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