Finding Her Course: Giavanna Christiano ’27 on Sailing, Resilience, and the Unexpected

For Giavanna Christiano ’27, sailing has always been about learning how to respond to the unexpected.

The wind shifts. The waves change. A boat can be pushed off course despite careful preparation. For Christiano, those lessons took on a deeper meaning after her mother experienced a sudden, life-changing stroke when Christiano was in elementary school.

Christiano shared that story during her recent TA Talk, reflecting on her mother’s recovery, her own struggle with uncertainty, and the role sailing has played in helping her find peace.

When Christiano was younger, she says, she was a shy writer who kept her words mostly to herself. Over time, writing, sailing and teaching younger sailors became ways for her to reflect and grow. In introducing Christiano, English teacher Kate Hayman described the TA Talk as an opportunity for students to share “a live accounting of who you are and who you're becoming.”

For Christiano, that story began with a photograph.

She opened her talk by describing a 2019 photo of her basketball team. The young players were gathered together, smiling for the camera, unaware of how much their lives would change in the years ahead. The photo was taken by Christiano’s mother, Terry, who was trying to get the children closer together and into the frame.

Less than 24 hours later, everything changed.

During the basketball game, a teammate tripped and grabbed Christiano’s mother by the shoulder and neck for support. At the time, she appeared uninjured. The following day, however, Christiano’s mother was taken to the hospital. Doctors discovered that she had torn her right vertebral artery, resulting in a blood clot that restricted blood flow to her brain and caused a stroke. The stroke affected her vision, mobility and fine motor skills.

Christiano remembers visiting her mother in the hospital and realizing, in a moment that stayed with her, how much their lives had changed.

She had brought a copy of Endling, one of her favorite books — one her mother had once read to her. But now, as her mother struggled to see, Christiano was reading the book to her.

“All of a sudden, this was our lives,” she said.

Her mother spent three days at Brigham and Women’s Hospital before transferring to a rehabilitation facility. As her mother began the long process of recovery, Christiano found herself struggling with feelings of fear and powerlessness.

She turned toward something she could control: sailing.

Christiano has been sailing since she was 5 years old, when she began attending a summer camp at Duxbury Bay Maritime School. What started as a weekly summer activity eventually grew into team practices and competitive racing.

After her mother’s stroke, sailing became more than something Christiano enjoyed. It became a source of stability.

“The wind may be unpredictable, the waves may be washing over the boat, but I know how to handle it,” she said. “By developing my skills, I've learned to handle whatever the ocean throws at me. It has become my peace.”

Her mother eventually made a significant recovery, relearning how to walk and regain other motor functions. Christiano recalled one promise her mother kept even while still recovering: taking her to an American Girl doll show she had been looking forward to for months. Her mother arrived in a wheelchair, and Christiano pushed her to their seats.

“My mom has always been strong like that,” Christiano said. “Even a little stubborn. I think that's where I get it from.”

Although her mother has made an almost complete recovery, she continues to experience some nerve issues. She also visits the rehabilitation facility where she recovered each week to spend time with other stroke patients.

Through her experience, Christiano says, her mother taught her another important lesson: asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

“She realized she couldn't do this alone,” Christiano said. “Asking for what you need is never a sign of weakness.”

That lesson has stayed with Christiano, particularly when she finds herself facing things she cannot control.

Her mother’s stroke was something no one could have anticipated or prevented. Sailing, meanwhile, has taught Christiano how to respond when circumstances change.

“You may prepare for every outcome you can think of and still be surprised,” she said.

On the water, Christiano has learned to distinguish between what she can control and what she cannot. When the waves become difficult or the boat is pushed off course, she adjusts.

“My mom's stroke taught me that I can't control every wave that comes my way,” she said. “Sailing has taught me to remain steady, adjust my sails, and continue on.”

For Christiano, that mindset has become a way of moving through life — not by avoiding uncertainty, but by learning how to navigate it.

“On the water, I am surrounded and yet free,” she said. “The world grows quiet, the stress and the worries drift away.”

And as she continues sailing toward open water, she carries with her the lessons her mother’s experience taught her: some things cannot be controlled, but there is always a choice in how you respond.