Brian M. Bowman
"Blessed is the man who...is like a tree
planted by streams of water that yields
its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not
wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
- Psalm 1:1,3 ESV
Current State
I am 6'1" tall and I have brown hair and blue-green eyes. I am currently in my junior year at Elmira College. I love making people laugh with my dorky humor. I am an officer for Christian Fellowship, a resident assistant, I give campus tours as a member of the Gold Key Society, and a student assistant coach for the women's softball team. I also play soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball on campus.
Up From a Sapling
I was born on March 4, 1989 at Medina Memorial Hospital in Medina, New York and I have lived in the same house my whole life. From a young age, I was brought up knowing about Jesus and accepted him as my personal savior when I was 7. My relationship with Him has grown and strengthened over the years through many events.
My parents tell me that I am mostly a combination of my two grandfathers. My paternal grandfather loved to watch any sort of competition, and he was a minor league baseball pitcher. My maternal grandfather played many sports and he was very gifted in math and science. I have always loved sports and any sort of competition. I will sit and watch any sporting event on television, as long as it is interesting.
In middle school, I began playing sports for my high school. The first time I played organized basketball was in 7th grade, but I really enjoyed it. I played JV soccer and baseball in 8th grade, and then transitioned into varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball in high school.
I also spent some time hunting with my dad in the 8th and 9th grades. I got a deer in Pennsylvania each year. Once I got into sports in high school, I did not have the time to go out hunting during the season.
Since I was young, I knew that God gave me a gift of intelligence and I knew that I had to make the most of it. I took pride in my academics and always wanted to be the top student in whatever I was doing. My knowledge and work ethic were the things that were going to bring me success throughout life.
I came into my senior year at Newfane High School knowing that I had a large lead in GPA over the student behind me for the top spot among the class rankings. After coming into high school wanting to be an architect, I had shifted toward chemical engineering. My goal was to finish my last year strong academically. Also, we had a strong senior class in all of the sports teams I was on, so we had high expectations coming into each season. In soccer, we won the Section VI and Far West Regional titles, losing in the Final Four at the state championships. Our basketball team won the league title, and our baseball team won the first league title for our coach, who had been coaching since my dad was in high school. Our baseball team was ranked #1 in Western New York for much of the season, but we fell in the sectional semifinals.
I applied to 13 colleges my senior year of high school. When it came time for me to choose a college, Elmira College was the clear choice. The College awarded me a Valedictorian Scholarship, which covered the full tuition that year, and the same amount would be renewed each year by maintaining a 3.4 GPA. Also, my high school soccer coach played at Elmira and the I knew the new head coach, who had also helped recruit me.
To prepare for preseason, I trained all summer, but I did not know the volume of what was ahead of me at training camp. The first night, we did sprints until we pretty much all fell over. I felt like quitting, but I stuck it out and made it through. Completing all of the requirements for freshman year at Elmira was difficult during the season, including Freshman Writing, Encore, and Community Service. I was happy to get some relief once the season was done.
After my first year, I experienced a realization of my identity. Although I was a Christian, I identified myself with my grades, my sports, and my girlfriend. That year, I got my first A- in a class, I was not the best defender on my soccer team anymore, and my girlfriend and I broke up. Through these adjustments, God carried me through them and reminded me that my identity is in Him and not the things of the world. He was the reason for all my success in the first place, and he would bring me through any situation and has the best things in store for me in my future.
The past few years at Elmira, I have become more involved on campus, especially with Christian Fellowship. It is essential for me to do God's work because that is where my identity lies. I also realized that doing JV soccer and basketball were more fun than varsity soccer. Last year, the College announced that there was going to be a men's volleyball team my senior year. When it was announced that Jeff Lennox, the current women's assistant coach, was going to be the coach, I became interested in pursuing playing for him. I knew him from before and I knew that he is a great guy and my time that I put into playing volleyball would be worthwhile. I have been training here and there with my best friend Renaldo and my friend Zach for the past year, learning skills and techniques that will prepare me for next year.
Fellow Trees
God has brought many people into my life throughout the years of different types and purposes. Many times, I have discovered who is a quality friend and who is not. The ones that have shown me love are the ones that I have trusted the most. I often find myself talking to my friends for hours on end when I should be sleeping, doing work, or getting something else done. I love my friends and would have a miserable time without them.
