This feature originally appeared in the 2020 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



Hitting the water in the morning and diving into the Armenian history books in the afternoon.
 
The combination might be strange to some, but it has become routine for George Finlayson, a junior oarsman on the Cal men's rowing team.
 
"I never knew anything about Armenia until these courses," Finlayson admitted, "but the professors have been great and I've really enjoyed the classes. I think most people assume that if you're a history major, that means you'll go on to teach history. But I think that you can take whatever major you're interested in, if you do what you enjoy and do what you're interested in, the grades and opportunities will go from there."
 
This has become common occurrence for Finlayson over last three years: embrace the unexpected, commit to the task at hand, and the results will follow.
 
Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Finlayson began rowing in high school and never entertained the idea of rowing in the United States – a country he had never visited – until an older teammate at his rowing club committed to rowing across the Pacific. Finlayson eventually chose Cal, drawn to the combination of academics, athletics and the "quintessential American experience" of going to school in California.
 
In the classroom, Finlayson quickly embraced the academic rigors of Cal and the program's standards of success. Finlayson settled on the history major after his freshman year and collected both IRA and Pac-12 All-Academic honors at the end of his sophomore season, as well as the Golden Bear Achievement Award for having the highest GPA on the team. He also helped men's rowing capture the Newmark Award for team academic achievement each of the last two seasons, an honor head coach and Cal graduate Scott Frandsen emphasizes heavily within the program.
 
"That's pretty much become the expectation, that every guy is performing in the classroom, and that's something we try and show the freshmen right away," said Finlayson. "Scott is someone you can look up to – going to Haas, graduating from here and then Oxford. He sets a great example and is the type of guy you want to be taking academic and life advice from, let alone rowing advice."
 
When it comes to competitions, Finlayson's positive impact also started early. He raced much of his freshman season in the Bears' varsity eight and helped the boat to a third-place finish at the 2018 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship regatta.
 
The trajectory continued into his sophomore year, stroking the varsity eight for the vast majority of the season. Yet not long before the IRA regatta, Finlayson was moved to the junior varsity eight. However, he quickly embraced the new reality and helped Cal capture a national championship in the event, overpowering the field in the final.
 
"It was tough because I'd hoped to be in the varsity come national championships, but the top two boats were really competitive all season and we had a lot of depth," Finlayson reflected. "I was on the wrong end of the stick but that's just sport, and it ended up being almost a more rewarding experience because of everything I learned from it."
 
Now an upperclassman, Finlayson and the Bears look to bring more hardware back to Berkeley in the future. He also looks forward to parlaying his classroom pursuits into internship and career opportunities for the near future and beyond.
 
If history is any indication, he'll excel on both fronts.