Courtney (Pepper) Lewis '17 was a unique student-athlete in her time at Concordia University Chicago. While playing for CUC softball, Lewis pitched for three years and spent some time in the outfield during the final two. However, unlike most students, she completed her program in three years and focussed in on her future. 

Lewis began her doctoral program at Grand Valley State in August of 2017, three months after graduating from CUC. After finishing her final clinical rotation and passing the Board Exam last July, she began working full-time as a physical therapist at Memorial Hospital in her hometown of South Bend, Ind. 

Graduating in three years is no small decision, but Lewis knew she wanted to get a jump start on building her life. 

"I thought about it for sure," Lewis said. "No one wants to give up their final year of collegiate play. It wasn't easy, but it was definitely worth it. It was a great choice financially." 

When Lewis was 15, she suffered a torn rotator cuff which forced her to go through an extensive recovery process in order to get back to playing softball. While recovering, she had an outstanding physical therapist who helped get her on the right track. That's when she knew it was exactly what she wanted to pursue for her career. 

Lewis arrived at CUC as an exercise science major, and said the courses she took prepared her very well for getting a doctorate in physical therapy. Several of the classes were prerequisites for her admission. 

As a student-athlete, Lewis always made a point to prioritize her academics. She spent the early weeks of the spring semester working ahead in classes and knocking out big projects prior to the start of the season. Once the season began, she remained committed to her class work, sometimes even passing on plans and other social activities if there was work to be done. 

"I set a goal to get ahead of the game before the season really got intense," Lewis said. "During the season, I'd wake up early, stay up late and even study on the bus if I had something important. I always made sure to take advantage of my breaks during the day as well." 

Even though the primary focus was her studies, Lewis still had time to create plenty of wonderful memories in her time at CUC. The moment that stuck with her most was getting off the bus at the NACC Tournament as a freshman and getting told by Head Coach Sarah O'Malley Fisher she would be getting the ball to start the game. 

"I'm extremely grateful for Coach O'Malley-Fisher," Lewis said. "She knew from the start that I was there for school and softball was something I was just lucky enough to do. She was always supportive of that and was extremely gracious when she heard she'd be losing a pitcher a week early." 

Lewis remains in contact with her former coach and still keeps an eye on what's going on with the team. She is not currently involved in any sort of softball activities, but is in the process of training for a half marathon for the Beacon's Children Hospital in South Bend this fall. 

"I played in a 16-inch softball league after college," Lewis said. "I think my teammates were a little disappointed. They thought I'd be a superstar, but it's a totally different game." 

She still enjoys the game from afar, and was dialed into quite a bit of this year's Women's College World Series.

Even though she left the game a year early to pursue her career, the transition was a smooth one for Lewis. Where she previously had to balance 18 credit hours, softball and a job, she spent her first semester at Grand Valley State focusing entirely on school. She even went as far as to say her first year was easier than her undergrad.

There was always one certainty in Lewis' life: she wanted to enter the world of physical therapy. 

"If you have a dream, go and get it," Lewis said. "I'm extremely grateful and blessed to have the people in my life to get me to where I am now. Every day there's something I take from Concordia and use it in my life."