Alumni Features

UPDATE 11/2018: Lewis alumna and gymnast Kristle Lowell ’12 recently won a bronze medal for the United States in the World Championships in St. Petersburg Russia! Kristle was competing for Morgan Park sports center under coach Chris Walker where she made the national team for 2018. “I qualified for the national team in Greensboro, NC, and went to the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. I wanted to definitely make the competition team, which is decided there, and I won both of the two verification competitions and made the competitive team! I got to work with a coach while I was there, Chelsea Rainer, and she was incredible.” For the World Championships, five athletes go but only four compete – so it was a constant competition to prove herself. “I did the performances of my life going into finals to get into the top eight. It’s extremely difficult to make finals with the current two per country rule. We went to this early-morning training session in Russia, where the W...

As a transfer student, Casey Pyne ‘11 feared he would never have a full college experience during his two short years at Lewis. Thankfully, the Business Administration major not only got the full Lewis experience he was hoping for, but he also learned skills that would help him in more ways than he ever imagined as he pursued his true passion: golf.   Casey worked hard to soak up as much as he could during his years at Lewis, living by the mantra “Take the hard teachers and push your learning to the next level.” His favorite class was a business class with Fr. Kevin Spiess, one of the “hard” teachers. “I’d never had a professor that could put you on the spot like Fr. Spiess,” Casey says. “His classes were engaging; he used humor to keep the class alive and it definitely brought the best out of his students. You had to be prepared when you came into his class, it was very intense. If you weren’t ready, he was going to run you over! It was truly an eye-opening experience.”...

Tommy (Thomas) Hearden ’14 (Marketing) has always been a sports enthusiast and a golf devotee. He grew up around golf courses because of his Dad’s job and always knew he wanted to play in college. During his freshman year, the golf team won their first-ever conference, which brought the team closer together. “I met some of my best friends on that team, who I am lucky to still call my best friends today,” Tommy reflects. Tommy was doing great in golf, but in every sport or even life in general, there are setbacks. Tommy’s was his shoulder injury. While in high school, Tommy tore his labrum in his shoulder.  Instead of getting surgery right away, he did physical therapy and played through the pain. He played two years of golf at Lewis before he decided to have the surgery. “It was the toughest decision I had ever had to make at that point in my life” he says. “I played the entire fall season my junior year and was a solid part of the team. So to make this decision, I felt li...