SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- "Everything just felt right." The quick response from sophomore tennis student-athlete Tyson Cowger, on why he decided to attend Augustana.
Since Cowger was a little kid, it was a dream for him to be a collegiate athlete. However, finding a place that was going to be the right place for him took some time.
"I looked at schools in Ohio and Texas, Division I to NAIA, tens of thousands of students and only a couple at some."
Then something clicked. Cowger came to visit Augustana in November of 2018 with no expectations of the University.
"After seeing things like the Pentagon, Kirkeby-Over Stadium and the entirety of the Elmen Center, I knew this school really valued athletics and athletes were seen as important assets who are taken care of."
Cowger was also quite impressed with the tennis facility, the Huether Tennis Center, right on campus.
It was also a breath of fresh air to see the capabilities of having an indoor facility like GreatLIFE Woodlake Athletic Club to use for indoor training.
"A lot of Division II schools don't have indoor courts to train on during the winter months," Cowger added.
To add the finishing touches to Cowger's visit, Augustana men's tennis head coach Marc Kurtz stood out from all the other coaches while recent graduate Logan Barr gave a great tour of the University and what it was like to be a Viking on Augustana's tennis team.
Although Cowger had dreams of being a collegiate athlete, there was more that his college needed to offer him. It was just as important for him to go to a Christian school. Fortunately, the Kansas City, Missouri, native, found that in Augustana.
"Maintaining spiritual wellness is something that has always been important to me," he said.
Cowger recalls Distinguished Scholar Day in February of 2019. The University's most prestigious scholarship event. Where an essay is submitted and an interview with a faculty committee and an essay written on-site during the competition.
"They had a chapel service for students which was led by Pastor Ann Rosendale. Her sermon was amazing and made me feel really comfortable with how Christianity was carried out at the school."
What Augustana stands for motivated Cowger to join the campus ministry this year.
Understanding that athletics wasn't going to consume his life forever, he understood the importance of a good education.
"At the end of the day, the most important part of college isn't my athletic statistics, or my on-campus job, it's coming out with a degree that means something," Cowger said
"Augustana will serve as an unmatched foundation for whatever vocation a student goes into."
Cowger, a business major, knew that there wouldn't be a better place than Augustana for his academics. With ninety-eight percent of Augustana students are getting jobs immediately after graduating, that's a number that goes unmatched.
The small classroom feel was important to Cowger to ensure he was getting the most out of it.
"I'm able to establish meaningful relationships with my professors because I'm not learning how to accrue interest in a lecture hall with 400 people but rather a class in the Madsen center with 15 students."
Augustana does a good job of finding professors who have relatability to the classes being taught.
"I'm not learning about interpersonal communications and how to effectively manage business relationships from a professor with a degree that's totally unrelated, but rather from somebody with the highest qualifications in that specific area of study."
"Augustana effectively prepares students for life after college in a way that is unmatched.
--GoAugie.com--
