Women, get ready to crush. We are very excited to introduce the newest member of the Haute Volée: Rebecca Mehra. Even better? Today is her birthday! Let us just brag a lil bit. On the track, she's a 3x All-American at Stanford, 2017 USATF Championships Semi-Finalist in the 1500m, 4x All-PAC12 in the 1500m, owns the Stanford University #3 All-Time 1500m time and currently trains under Dena Evans with the Strava Track Club. Off the track, she holds a BA in International Relations and Master's degree in Communication from Stanford. She won the Class of 2016 Award of Excellence, International Relations Department Thesis Award, James W. Lyons Award, all while interning every summer in Geneva, Switzerland, and the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. Oh, and she can speak 4 languages. Let's get started!
JESS: WHAT'S IN YOUR BAG RIGHT NOW?
REBECCA: Garmin watch, contact lenses, hair brush, chapstick, advil, socks, notepad and pen!
JB: WHAT DO YOU DREAM OF?
RM: A few things -
- To be a badass businesswoman and athlete
- To represent the USA both athletically and diplomatically
- To be in a position to impact young women and girls in a positive way
- A more diverse and accepting world to people of all ethnic, religious, and sexual orientations.
JB: WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF RUNNING?
RM: Currently I am working at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, CA doing policy and regulatory affairs. I help to advise our portfolio companies (among them Lyft and Airbnb, if you have heard of those) on all issues public policy related. We also host high level policymakers (Congressmen, Governors, foreign leaders) to bridge the connection between government (Washington D.C.) and technology (Silicon Valley).
JB: WHO DO YOU ADMIRE?
RM: Condoleeza Rice- first African American woman to hold the high office of Secretary of State, loves sports (and student-athletes), and lifts nearly every morning. She was my professor at Stanford, and I do hope one day I can be as well-spoken as she is! Also, Sasha Gollish - another member of the Haute Volée team who I met while competing in Israel this summer! She emulates what it means to be a badass on and off the track, and is a wonderful human being.
JB: WHAT IS YOUR SUPERPOWER?
RM: Resilience. It's not something that I innately have, but after battling back from a few injuries I have certainly learned how to put myself back on a starting line (in no matter what kind of shape) and go for it! For me this past season it meant diving across the finish line in 3 of 4 rounds of the NCAA Championships.
JB: WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING RIGHT NOW?
RM: Literally - trying to understand open banking regulation to write a memorandum for my boss. In life- learning how to find the right life balance between running and work post student-athlete life at Stanford!
JB: LAST PLACE YOU TRAVELLED TO? WHY?
RM: Geneva, Switzerland! My grandparents and extended family live there, so it's my home away from home (with better chocolate, bread, and cheese!). Running around the lake and old town Geneva is also one of the most beautiful and historic sites. It never gets old!
JB: WHO'S YOUR PIC (PARTNER IN CRUSHING IT)?
RM: My best friend Danielle Katz- we were teammates at Stanford, and she runs with me every morning and is learning the life balance thing too (running lots while working an engineering job at Apple). A true bad ass.
JB: WHAT'S THE NEXT BIG THING ON YOUR CALENDAR?
RM: Hosting a governor today at my firm to discuss the future of driverless cars, and then leaving straight from here to run some 200's at the track!
JB: WHAT THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
RM: If you're trying to do something great, it's going to be tough, so embrace the challenge! That, and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. It's such a simple thing but it's so important.
JB: WHAT'S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?
RM: All desserts, but especially milk chocolate and vanilla malt shakes.
JB: DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS?
RM: Not exactly, but I did wear the same pair of racing socks all of college. By the end they were barely socks anymore (with so many holes in them), and have since been retired.
JB: WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR HALLOWEEN? DRESSING UP?
RM: This is going to sound silly, but my whole team at work are going as Russian bots. We discuss this so much at work that we thought it would be funny!
JB: WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO EMOJI OR GIF?
RM: Besides the obvious runner girl emoji, I use the coffee emoji (because I love coffee, who doesn't?), and monkey face emojis.
Big thank you to Rebecca for crushing it! Please give her a follow + a warm welcome to the team!
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Team - Haute Volée
