by: Julia Valencia
Opinion Editor

Makayla Kelley is no stranger to hard work, tackling her freshman year at Los Gatos High School and her fourth year rowing at Los Gatos Rowing Club (LGRC) with both ambition and intensity. Kelley is willing to do it all: waking up early to get in extra workouts and completing homework in the car on her way to a race are just two of the ways she gracefully balances the demands of school and athletics.

As she reaches the halfway mark of her eighth season with LGRC, Kelley has plenty to be proud of, and even more on the horizon. Before joining crew, Kelley admitted that she had “tried so many sports before, and nothing seemed to click. I was like, ‘I like [these sports], but they’re not my thing.’” That changed when Kelley enrolled in the club’s Learn to Row program. Almost immediately, she felt a connection with the sport. “I loved it, and I decided to pursue it,” Kelley recalled. Now, four years later, her dedication has paid off, earning her numerous awards. Among these is a bronze medal from the 2025 Youth National Championships, where she raced in the highly competitive Under 16 Eight category.

Kelley shared that her love for the sport extends to the people she works with: “The rowing community is awesome.” Since she discovered the sport, Kelley aspires to row on a collegiate level and just wants to “see how many levels [of rowing she] can achieve.”

Kelley entered high school committed to diversifying her schedule and skill sets early on. She is currently taking both Chinese and Manufacturing Technology 1, a course that teaches students the basics of woodworking and metalworking in a collaborative environment. Although Kelley will “definitely do something different next year,” she is enjoying her current welding project. She acknowledged that Manufacturing Technology is “a challenging class for [me] personally, but [I think] it’s a cool class overall.” Outside of her electives, Kelley genuinely values her Physical Education class, which is currently in its weightlifting unit. The extra exercise aligns well with her passion for rowing, and because she is a naturally athletic person, she uses physical activity as a way to relieve stress. In her own words, “I just like moving my body, whether that’s hiking or swimming or running.”

Working out provides an escape from the chaos of everyday life, and Kelley aims to turn that love into something that can benefit the community as well. She is currently working on a passion project focused on helping the senior population in Los Gatos stay physically active, and she is enjoying “working with more elderly people and trying to keep them fit [and] just increasing their overall lung capacity.”

As her rowing season ramps up and the school year enters its final months, Kelley remains committed to maintaining athletic and academic excellence.