GETTING TO KNOW Alex Phelps
1) I chose UIS because I wanted to join the new cross country program in 2016. I also came to Springfield because I wanted to pursue a political science degree in the state capitol.
2) I first started running my freshman year of high school when I joined the track team. I was not very good at the time, and I remember that during meets my parents would cheer me on to not finish last. Looking back, I'm grateful for having the experience of struggling with my sport because it quickly taught me that I would have to fight and work hard to achieve any progress whatsoever and that I could not rely on things like talent to get by.
3) I chose to continue running because I wanted to see how far I could go. I believe another reason I chose to stay besides being a stubborn person is that I had, and continue to have, a community of people who invested and encouraged me to reach my highest potential as both a person and as a student-athlete. It wasn't necessarily one single decision I made to continue running but was instead a series of choices that could not have happened if I did not have people who pushed me every step of the way. To this day, the people who continue to inspire me daily are my coaches, athletic trainers, and teammates.
4) I manage my schedule by prioritizing time around my sport and classes. In a normal week, I will meet with my team at 6 am to go run which is sometimes followed by weight sessions with C Lowe or afternoon double runs. All of this means that I regularly go to bed by 10 and wake up by 5:45. Outside of practice, I also block off the weekends for meets.
5) I'm not a very superstitious person when it comes to pre-meet rituals but I like to make sure that I go to sleep on time, hydrate throughout the day, and have all of my clothes laid out before traveling.
6) Outside of athletics, I am involved with several student organizations. The main one is the University Bible Fellowship. UBF is an international ministry that hosts church services on campus. Through them, I have helped out with UBF events, attended bible conferences, and lead Bible studies. Besides church, I also have been a part of the International Student Association, the Christian Student Fellowship, and the Leadership for Life program.
7) After I graduate, I plan to take a gap year to either teach English in Chile or Colombia or do a year of service through a nonprofit organization called the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. After that, I hope to enter law school with a focus on immigration and public interest law.
8) I would want to tell people that for me success has always been the relationships I've gotten to form with my coaches, teammates, professors, friends, and family. I would also like to share that I owe much of my success as an athlete to people like Tyler Pence. I remember coming into my freshman of college being the slowest recruit of my class with no expectations besides wanting to prove myself. I'm not sure what Pence saw in me but I like to joke around that he chose me to be his lab rat for his training plans when he first got to UIS. In all seriousness, Coach Pence is someone who I still see as a role model to this day because he wouldn’t accept anything less than the best I could give. Another person I can't help but mention is Eli Cook, a former member of the cross country team. Despite being several grades apart, Eli set the standard for me of what it meant to be a hard worker and a good person. This standard of hard work was one I strived to meet as well as to pass down to the newer classes. Because of these two people, and many more, I am the person I am today.?
"Alex played a major role in creating the culture for our program.”
“He has all of the qualities needed to be successful on and off the course/track.”
-Tyler Pence?
