The 2020 Senior Perspectives is the 15th in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of teams at Harvard have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Harvard.

Galen Lee
Hometown: Woodstock, Ga.

I still remember the day I verbally committed to play tennis for Harvard—June 23, 2015. It was my dad's birthday. It was the achievement of a lifetime, and I could only imagine what my 4 years at college would be like.

Now those 4 years have come and gone, and I am left with lifelong friends, fond memories and a more mature self. My time with HMT has been a roller coaster of a ride—one riddled with a myriad of ups and downs. Freshmen often come into college with a narrative in their head—one of grinding the lower spots in the lineup and moving up throughout the years. I certainly did, and the disappointment that came from being constantly edged out of the lineup weighed heavy on me.

I found it difficult to buy into the team aspect of college tennis, perhaps due to the individual nature of junior tennis. I remember specific feedback from two previous captains Jean Thirouin and Kenny Tao explaining to me how using my "connective tissues", a term coined by our good friend and mental trainer Lorenzo, would lead me to a much more fruitful career with HMT. I didn't realize what the process had been until my senior year, but it was an introspection into my moral values that ultimately connected my knowledge, caring for my teammates because I should, to my understanding, caring for my teammates because I do. Through my gradual buy-in, I began to receive the gratification and fulfillment from building productive and meaningful relationships with teammates akin to brothers. There is something special about going into the trenches every day with guys you want to see improve.

Throughout this journey, I was not the only one to grow. College is a time when you get to grow alongside some of your best friends. Harvard Men's tennis takes advantage of this through an efficient meritocratic environment. One person's lesson becomes the team's lesson. The number of times I've witnessed an underclassman make a suggestion to improve our program and actually see it implemented is astounding, and this is just another special trait of HMT.

Ultimately, what I am grateful for are the relationships with my teammates who became brothers and mentors, the coaching and administrative staff who promote a program of excellence and a moral compass that I will continue to live by long beyond my college years. I know, however, that more than anything I'm going to miss the little things often taken for granted - the banter, the poker nights, the team meals, the road trips, even the first-years fighting over whose turn it is to take the laundry bin.

I've been consoled by many people because my class year won't be pinned on the flag as Ivy Champs and NCAA qualifiers—things our team was more than capable of. This is not the viewpoint I take. I am incredibly happy to have left the program knowing that this historic season is simply an indicator of greater excellence to come because I can see that these young men understand where they want to go and how they can get there.

Thank you to the coaches, alumni and greater HMT community for everything you have done for this program. Let's go Crim!