BLACK HISTORY MONTH: SCOTT BOWMAN  

In honor of Black History Month, Falcon Athletics is celebrating those who paved the way. Throughout February, UWRFSports.com will share short interviews with African-American alumni. In these interviews, former student-athletes reflect on their time at the UW-River Falls, provide advice to current Falcons and share what Black History Month means to them personally.
 
Class of 2012 – Scott Bowman
Sport: Cross Country & Track and Field
Years: 2008-2012
Grad Year:  2012
Hometown: McFarland, WI
Major:  Psychology
Occupation: Career Services Manager, SecureSet
 
What do you miss most about UW-River Falls?
I miss the ability to get involved very broadly across the entire school. When I was enrolled here, I was involved in different advisory committees and served as president of the Black Student Union. There are many opportunities and it's up to you to seize the day.
 
What occupies your time now?
When I'm not working at SecureSet, I run a side business, my passion project.  We provide opportunities for web developers who are just getting started, to gain hands on experience working on community projects. We help small business get their websites up and running for free or low cost. The company is growing fast and I'm very excited to see where it goes in 2018.
 
How did your time as a student-athlete prepare you for life after college and athletics? 
It showed me the value of putting in the time and effort, especially as a long-distance runner I know the value of patience and persistence. I realized that life is a collection of experiences that add up overtime to wisdom. What I really learned was that you have to put in the time now for it to pay off later.
 
What's one piece of advice you would share with current student-athletes?
Don't think about a professional career in sports, think about it as a way to prove your hard working, competitive spirit as a value add point over your peers. I really worked it from that angle and said, "I was a hard worker and could prove it. I was running 60-70 miles a week, that takes a lot of time and commitment, that's something I'm willing to bring to your organization."  The transferability of that hard work goes a long way in your career. I would also recommend that current student-athletes look for leadership opportunities on campus.  
 
What is your favorite memory from your time at UW-River Falls?  
My favorite memory is from junior year of cross country. That summer I was running 90-100 miles per week, putting in the time and effort.  It was the first time I was captain of anything and the first time anyone trusted me to be the leader of anything. That hard work paid off at the regional cross-country championship when I ran my fastest time by 45 seconds and made it into the top 7 times in school history, at that time. After that I gained more respect from my peers, it was a great feeling.
 
What are you grateful for?  
I'm grateful for life, for my freedom and independence. I'm grateful for my job, that I love doing and I don't mind commuting three hours a day to do it. I'm grateful that I am able to meet new people everyday and I really appreciate the ability to find new challenges in my life, to make things interesting.  
 
What does Black History Month mean to you? 
I wish Black History was 365 days a year, it seems like it's one twelfth of our attention at this point. I think it's important for all black athletes to take the time to appreciate where they are and all the work that went into making that possible.
 
Check out Black History Month Central for more alumni features.