This June, as nearly 7,000 students received diplomas from the University of Washington, two young Italian women were among those who celebrated. Valentina Iseppi and Carmela Pappalardo are not just new degree-holders.

They are also elite athletes, rowers who have competed on both national and international levels. The pair helped the UW women’s rowing team secure national championship titles, and as if that weren’t impressive enough, both women trained as part of the Italian national rowing team with an eye on competing in the 2020 Olympic Games.