Ed. Note: This article was originally published on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs blog
The Olympics are filled with inspirational stories that bring the country together in celebration of exceptional accomplishment and national pride. And we at VA are very proud to share an inspiring story from one of our own, Natalie Dell—a Bronze Medal winner at the Summer Olympics.
Natalie conducts mental health research at the VA Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. Every day, she studies how to help Veterans with depression and mental health issues. “I came in contact with Veterans every day,” she said in a VA interview this week. “Part of my job would be…to get a little more in-depth information on how exactly VA can help them.”
(by US Rowing)
Beyond caring for Veterans, her other passion is rowing, a passion so developed that it led Natalie to compete in the 30th Olympiad in London, winning bronze for Team USA this week with her team in women’s quadruple sculls, which ended a 28 year medal drought in the sport.
And this is where Natalie’s success story gets truly inspiring. Growing up in a working class family, Natalie did not start rowing until her undergraduate years at Penn State University in an unfunded rowing club. Unlike her Ivy-league counterparts, she said, “I was not fast enough. I wasn’t even close to being fast enough to make the national team,” after graduation. Natalie realized that to make the team she would have to put in long hours of training, while also balancing a professional career. A professor suggested she try applying at VA as a research scientist, where she eventually landed a job caring for Veterans.
Fonte: White House