Kaitlyn Furtney still can’t believe her rowing dream has come true.

The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student at E.L. Crossley has accepted a scholarship offer from Bucknell University, a Division 1 school in Pennsylvania for the 2025-26 school year.

“It all feels really surreal,” Furtney smiled. “They reached out to me for rowing in Grade 11, I think it was November and they said they wanted me to come down for a visit.”

Furtney visited the school last fall and again in February. On her third trip in July, they offered her the scholarship which she had to keep to herself until it became official.

“I knew all the people that I was going in with, a lot of my friends from around America are going and I have a friend in Toronto I race against her all the time to go together,” she said. “It feels really, really good to have it out of the way.”

Furtney can’t wait to get started.

“I just feel it’s so much that I get to look forward to. I know where I’m going, I just have to figure out what I’m gonna do when I’m there.”

Furtney, who plans to major in either education or English, loves everything about the school, which is located in Lewisburg, about a four-and-a-half hour drive from her home.

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