Twin Rowers Named Outstanding Seniors
April 28, 2022 01:08 PM | Rowing
West Virginia University senior rowers, Ashley Dibling and Nicole Dibling, have been named Outstanding Seniors by the WVU Foundation.
"I'm glad that we can represent the rowing team and are thrilled to earn this outstanding honor," Ashley said.
The award was established to honor WVU's most distinguished graduating seniors, and it is the pinnacle of years of hard work that started long before their freshman years.
"I knew that going into my freshman year there were a lot of opportunities that we could get involved in in addition to rowing, so I really tried to make the most of my time
here, and I think I accomplished it," Nicole said.
Nicole and Ashley are mechanical engineering students, maintaining 3.9 GPAs. Being in the same major and on the same team, they also motivate each other to keep going and do everything to the best of their abilities.
"Having those late nights, it is a lot easier knowing someone is going through the exact same thing with you, so that if she is doing it, I can also put in the time, study, do the homework assignments, go to class," Nicole said. "It's just a lot more fun when someone is going through the same situation with you."
The Perrysburg, Ohio, natives have been on the rowing team all four years and have represented the team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since 2019. Both were also members of the events committee, and Ashley served as the vice president this past year.
In addition to being high-ranking members of multiple student-athlete committees, the Diblings joined many engineering clubs and organizations. Ashley and Nicole honed their mechanical engineering skills while being a part of the WVU Formula Car team. Ashley also served as a member of the Student Government Association and the Society of Women Engineers, while Nicole was a member of the Honors College and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
"It's a lot about time management," Ashley said. "There would be nights where I'd be up until midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m. trying to complete lab reports, long homework assignments or group projects in various classes. Then for rowing, we practice at 6 a.m., so it'd be late nights with homework, early mornings with rowing."
The twins also continued to work over the summer. Nicole spent her summers working a different internship each summer with GE Aviation.
"Having internships with the same company was pretty cool because you got to experience broadly different workforces and environments, but then also in the same page, you got to be involved with really cool projects and really cool people," Nicole said.
Nicole added that her most recent internship with GE in Lafayette, Indiana excited her for the future.
"That's where all the engines were made and assembled, and I was working on the repair side of it," Nicole said. "The jet engines that were actually flying on aircrafts would get sent back to GE at that location, and then they would either have to fix the problems or do part repairs. Seeing that part of it was really cool and made me excited for the future."
Ashley has worked as a drafting intern with East Coast Metal Systems, where she identified possible issues and redesigned them. At Nalco Water, an ecolab company, she performed tests on cooling systems and monitored water quality. Being a student-athlete has helped her a lot in succeeding in her internships.
"Being a student-athlete definitely helps you make that transition into the workforce of being able to work in teams and actually communicate with people," Ashley said.
"Being a student-athlete helps you understand how to set goals and actually work towards them."
In between their work as student-athletes, engineering majors and their summer internships, Nicole and Ashley still found time to give back to the community and help those less fortunate. They volunteered for the Sundale Nursing Home as social night helpers and Skyview Elementary where they worked with students to improve their education.
The graduates already have jobs lined up for after college. Ashley will continue her work with Nalco Water in the Great Lakes region and plans to start in the summer following graduation. Nicole has accepted a job with GE Aviation and will continue working with them as a part of the Operations Management Leadership Program, beginning in November.
Both rowers said the team, the coaching staff and the athletic department supported them so much during their four years, and they will always be thankful for their time in Morgantown.
"It was nice to be supported by our coaching staff, and the entire academic department told us to never let athletics hold you back in the classroom. Athletics could actually help you excel in the classroom if you take advantage of the resources you have, so I just wanted to say thank you for all the support over the past four years," Ashley said.
"I'm glad that we can represent the rowing team and are thrilled to earn this outstanding honor," Ashley said.
The award was established to honor WVU's most distinguished graduating seniors, and it is the pinnacle of years of hard work that started long before their freshman years.
"I knew that going into my freshman year there were a lot of opportunities that we could get involved in in addition to rowing, so I really tried to make the most of my time
here, and I think I accomplished it," Nicole said.
Nicole and Ashley are mechanical engineering students, maintaining 3.9 GPAs. Being in the same major and on the same team, they also motivate each other to keep going and do everything to the best of their abilities.
"Having those late nights, it is a lot easier knowing someone is going through the exact same thing with you, so that if she is doing it, I can also put in the time, study, do the homework assignments, go to class," Nicole said. "It's just a lot more fun when someone is going through the same situation with you."
The Perrysburg, Ohio, natives have been on the rowing team all four years and have represented the team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since 2019. Both were also members of the events committee, and Ashley served as the vice president this past year.
In addition to being high-ranking members of multiple student-athlete committees, the Diblings joined many engineering clubs and organizations. Ashley and Nicole honed their mechanical engineering skills while being a part of the WVU Formula Car team. Ashley also served as a member of the Student Government Association and the Society of Women Engineers, while Nicole was a member of the Honors College and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
"It's a lot about time management," Ashley said. "There would be nights where I'd be up until midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m. trying to complete lab reports, long homework assignments or group projects in various classes. Then for rowing, we practice at 6 a.m., so it'd be late nights with homework, early mornings with rowing."
The twins also continued to work over the summer. Nicole spent her summers working a different internship each summer with GE Aviation.
"Having internships with the same company was pretty cool because you got to experience broadly different workforces and environments, but then also in the same page, you got to be involved with really cool projects and really cool people," Nicole said.
Nicole added that her most recent internship with GE in Lafayette, Indiana excited her for the future.
"That's where all the engines were made and assembled, and I was working on the repair side of it," Nicole said. "The jet engines that were actually flying on aircrafts would get sent back to GE at that location, and then they would either have to fix the problems or do part repairs. Seeing that part of it was really cool and made me excited for the future."
Ashley has worked as a drafting intern with East Coast Metal Systems, where she identified possible issues and redesigned them. At Nalco Water, an ecolab company, she performed tests on cooling systems and monitored water quality. Being a student-athlete has helped her a lot in succeeding in her internships.
"Being a student-athlete definitely helps you make that transition into the workforce of being able to work in teams and actually communicate with people," Ashley said.
"Being a student-athlete helps you understand how to set goals and actually work towards them."
In between their work as student-athletes, engineering majors and their summer internships, Nicole and Ashley still found time to give back to the community and help those less fortunate. They volunteered for the Sundale Nursing Home as social night helpers and Skyview Elementary where they worked with students to improve their education.
The graduates already have jobs lined up for after college. Ashley will continue her work with Nalco Water in the Great Lakes region and plans to start in the summer following graduation. Nicole has accepted a job with GE Aviation and will continue working with them as a part of the Operations Management Leadership Program, beginning in November.
Both rowers said the team, the coaching staff and the athletic department supported them so much during their four years, and they will always be thankful for their time in Morgantown.
"It was nice to be supported by our coaching staff, and the entire academic department told us to never let athletics hold you back in the classroom. Athletics could actually help you excel in the classroom if you take advantage of the resources you have, so I just wanted to say thank you for all the support over the past four years," Ashley said.
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