Keys to Success: Maile Heyer’s Hard Work in the Classroom, on the Water Secures Her Key to Phi Beta Kappa

Maile Heyer flipped through the pages of the book as they detailed the life of groundbreaking microbiologist Rita Colwell. As an aspiring microbiologist, Heyer was riveted by Colwell’s memoir, entitled A Lab of One’s Own: One Woman’s Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science. In it, Colwell details the sexism she faced in her career and how she persevered.

As Heyer read through Colwell’s memoir, she noticed a pattern. 

“In the book, she introduces a lot of female scientists that she’s worked with or gotten help from,” Heyer explained. “Many times when she introduced these female scientists, like microbiologist Dorothy Powelson and geneticist Anna Berkovitz, she said they graduated from so-and-so college with a key to Phi Beta Kappa. I was wondering what this key was since I’d never heard of it, but I figured it must be a big deal since she keeps mentioning it for all these female scientists.”

Just a few weeks later, Heyer opened her email inbox. In it was an email from none other than the UC San Diego chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Surprised, Heyer opened the email. 

“Dear Maile,” the email read. “Each year the chapters of the National Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society recognize outstanding undergraduates from 290 of the top American colleges and universities by inviting them to join our Honor Society. UCSD houses a Chapter (Sigma of California), and we are recognizing the breadth and excellence of your undergraduate career by inviting you to become a lifelong member of this prestigious Society...”

Coincidentally, Heyer opened her invitation on National Student-Athlete Day, a day created to honor the academic and athletic excellence of high school and college student-athletes. A fourth-year coxswain on the women’s rowing team, Heyer shared the news with her coaches, who congratulated her on the accomplishment. 

“I was just so excited for Maile to be recognized with such an honor!” said Triton Head Coach Colin Truex. “She perfectly exemplifies the Triton scholar-athlete – tremendous commitment to her team and teammates balanced along with outstanding academic success in a very rigorous program of study. Her whole team is very proud of her.”

Heyer also texted her parents, who congratulated her as well. Although Heyer’s mom wasn’t familiar with Phi Beta Kappa, she mentioned the news to Heyer’s stepdad, who was aware of the distinguished honor society.

“She said he almost fell off his chair when he heard I was invited,” Heyer recalled. “Apparently he sent the next hour telling my mom how big of a deal it was, so after hearing that from my stepdad, she was definitely impressed.”

As the reputation of Phi Beta Kappa became clear to Heyer, the significance of the invitation dawned on her.

“To receive this membership that these incredible female biologists I was reading about had also received, I was like, ‘Wow, I guess I’m on the right track,’” Heyer reflected. “It was a big moment. It just kind of all came together because I’ve been working really hard to do well in school, but I’m wondering how I’ll be in the real world or am I doing enough. 

“Receiving it at the same time that I’m reading about these other scientists made me realize that my work has gotten me somewhere,” Heyer added. “It gave me a lot of confidence.”

More than 4,000 papers are written for the class, while less than 100 are selected as Showcase honorees. Heyer's efforts on her essay paid off, as she was selected to be a Showcase honoree. She was honored in the spring 2019 quarter for her paper, “The Masculinization of Socialist Construction: The Role of Gender During China’s Cultural Revolution.”

In addition to Heyer’s course requirements for Roosevelt College, she also takes the required classes for her microbiology major and marine science minor. Heyer chose her major while in high school and thought initially that she would eventually change it, but then discovered her passion for microbiology while taking her major-related classes at UC San Diego.

Heyer had the option to pursue her master’s through UC San Diego’s biological sciences department, but decided on Scripps because her minor in marine science made her want to pursue the subject further. That passion for marine science stems from Heyer’s time spent on the water with the rowing team and her experiences while growing up near the Pacific Ocean in Hawai’i.

Heyer has had a love for the outdoors and the water for as long as she can remember. A Honolulu, Hawai’i native, Heyer grew up outrigger canoe paddling, a sport which is popular in Hawai’i due to its historical and cultural significance. Although outrigger canoe paddling has some similarities to rowing, rowing is essentially nonexistent in Hawai’i due to the lack of flat water. 

When Heyer arrived at UC San Diego in 2017, she spent her first year on the rowing team with the novices in order to learn the sport. She embraced the role of a coxswain, who is in charge of steering the boat and communicating with her teammates during practices and races. 

“There’s a lot of psychology that goes into coxing,” Heyer described. “If the rowers are having a bad day, I need to let them know what we aren’t doing well at, but I have to tell them in a way that lets them know how we can make it better. 

“Also, I have to communicate in a way that’s really clear and that everyone will understand,” Heyer explained. “If I tell them something and it doesn’t make the boat faster, I have to backtrack and think whether I can communicate it in a different way, or whether maybe that’s not truly the problem. Coxing has helped me a lot with problem solving and communicating effectively.”

The role is demanding, as are the hours, but Heyer’s organization and time management have helped her succeed while also balancing her other commitments.

“You’re waking up before 5 a.m. most days to go to practice, and not only does that mean that you get tired by around 9 p.m., but it also means in terms of academics, you can't stay up all night to cram for an exam or finish a paper,” Heyer said. “I mean, I could and then go to practice with one hour of sleep, but not only would my body feel really awful, but as a coxswain, I'm in charge of the safety of the rowers because I'm steering the boat and so I need to get sleep because I don't want to make a mistake that can hurt my rowers. 

“Also, the productivity and the effectiveness of practice really relies on how focused I am,” Heyer continued. “If I'm not fully prepared and fully focused at practice, it really can affect the rowers’ practice, and that’s what motivates me to. I need to get my work done on time so that I can get to bed for the team.”

Of course, the friendships Heyer has made through rowing expand beyond the classroom. The time and dedication that Heyer and her teammates have put into rowing has helped create long-lasting bonds.

“The friendships that I've formed with the rowing team are very important to me,” Heyer shared. “Not only that, but just working so hard with my teammates to reach a goal every day is really inspiring. It’s super inspiring to see my teammates work so hard and support each other. I have this sense of pride in the fact that we’re rowers succeeding at UC San Diego; it’s hard to put into words.”

Heyer’s final year with the Tritons is particularly special as it is UC San Diego’s first year competing at the Division I level. UC San Diego Athletics began its Division I transition on July 1, 2020, and the 2021 season is the women’s rowing team’s first facing all Division I competition. 

With the move to Division I, the team joined the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), a conference based in Richmond, Va. UC San Diego will face its new conference opponents at the CAA Championships on May 16.

“We’ll be racing people who we haven’t raced before, so we don't know what their speed is compared to us,” Heyer said. “To me, it's a little bit foggy since we don’t know a lot of these teams, but that's the exciting part.”

Once Heyer finishes her last year of rowing in 2021, she will complete her master’s at Scripps the following year. As for what’s next after that, Heyer aspires to continue researching marine microbes and is considering pursuing a PhD.

Regardless of what the future holds for Heyer though, it is evident that her work ethic will take her far as she holds the keys to success.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

Return To Sport… Safely

In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university’s highly-successful Return To Learn program.  Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene.  Athletes, coaches and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA and Big West Conference guidelines and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.