Spring Break
Weir is not quite an average student athlete
After a football injury ended his career, rower David Weir found the sport of crew; volunteers as a firefighter in Corvallis
Makenzie Marineau
Issue date: 5/27/09 Section: Sports
As a Corvallis volunteer firefighter and a member of last summer's under-23 U.S. national rowing team, David Weir certainly isn't your average student.
Originally from Folsom, Calif., Weir attended Folsom High School where he played football and wrestled until an unfortunate blindsided tackle left him injured and unable to play. Weir's uncle, who at the time was a rowing coach at Lake Natoma near Folsom, allowed Weir to come down for a rowing practice. Weir was hooked and since has dedicated himself to rowing and his passion for helping others, which is seen in his years of service as a volunteer firefighter.
In high school Weir became actively involved in firefighting. The process for Weir to get his EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training in high school gave him little time for anything else. He spent his days attending school until 3 p.m. then drove to Capitol crew practice from 3 to 6 and would finish off his evenings from 6 to 9 with his firefighting training.
"The whole process was challenging but a lot of fun," Weir said.
When Weir made the choice to attend Oregon State it wasn't a surprise that he continued to work strenuous hours interning as a firefighter in Corvallis.
"I came to Oregon State because it felt right. It was an overall good fit for me."
He came to OSU to join the rowing team, where he now helps lead the Varsity 8+ boat but also picked up an internship with the rural fire department. His freshman and sophomore year he lived at the Locke Fire Station (rural district station in the Lewisburg area) working 24 hours on and 48 hours off duty.
"People would cover shifts if you had class or practices like me. There were nine guys working and living at the station and we always had to have it open," Weir said. "I liked to take the holiday shifts to make up for the all the practices I had covered."
At Oregon State Weir is studying exercise science, which covers paramedic needs. Eventually Weir hopes to make a career of firefighting and possibly as a rowing coach in the future too. At this time he is trying to focus on finishing up school and rowing and hasn't been volunteering as much time as he used to.
Originally from Folsom, Calif., Weir attended Folsom High School where he played football and wrestled until an unfortunate blindsided tackle left him injured and unable to play. Weir's uncle, who at the time was a rowing coach at Lake Natoma near Folsom, allowed Weir to come down for a rowing practice. Weir was hooked and since has dedicated himself to rowing and his passion for helping others, which is seen in his years of service as a volunteer firefighter.
In high school Weir became actively involved in firefighting. The process for Weir to get his EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training in high school gave him little time for anything else. He spent his days attending school until 3 p.m. then drove to Capitol crew practice from 3 to 6 and would finish off his evenings from 6 to 9 with his firefighting training.
"The whole process was challenging but a lot of fun," Weir said.
When Weir made the choice to attend Oregon State it wasn't a surprise that he continued to work strenuous hours interning as a firefighter in Corvallis.
"I came to Oregon State because it felt right. It was an overall good fit for me."
He came to OSU to join the rowing team, where he now helps lead the Varsity 8+ boat but also picked up an internship with the rural fire department. His freshman and sophomore year he lived at the Locke Fire Station (rural district station in the Lewisburg area) working 24 hours on and 48 hours off duty.
"People would cover shifts if you had class or practices like me. There were nine guys working and living at the station and we always had to have it open," Weir said. "I liked to take the holiday shifts to make up for the all the practices I had covered."
At Oregon State Weir is studying exercise science, which covers paramedic needs. Eventually Weir hopes to make a career of firefighting and possibly as a rowing coach in the future too. At this time he is trying to focus on finishing up school and rowing and hasn't been volunteering as much time as he used to.
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