Carina D’Souza

Carina discovered so many things about herself during her 10 years at Havergal. As a new student in Grade 3, she joined the Chess Club on a whim, not knowing that she was unlocking an enthusiasm that would lead her to represent Canada internationally. Notably, Carina won U16 Canadian Women’s Nationals (2021) and placed second overall at Canadian Women’s Nationals for all ages (2023), which qualified her for the Canadian team. When Carina joined the Rowing Team in Grade 10, she reluctantly accepted the role of coxswain, questioning if she had the confidence to succeed. “During my first race, everyone felt so connected. I’ve loved it ever since,” she says. As a statistically-minded person, she enjoys studying the data of each race, comparing the boat’s GPS and her voice recordings to uncover what motivates her teammates most. Carina continues to row at Brown University, where she is studying Economics and Statistics. She is the co-founder of a non-profit organization that works to help improve the financial literacy of students and she co-authored a book on the topic. What’s the secret to her success? “Taking that first step of putting myself out there and trying something new is the thing that helped me the most.”