Scholar-Athlete: Sean Alexander finishes career as 3x academic All-American

Canadian scholar-athlete Sean Alexander finished his UAA college career last May just the way he wanted to:

• with a diploma stamped magna cum laude in economics and management, and
• All-America honors and a regional title in giant slalom for men's skiing.

His strong performance in the classroom and on the slopes got him selected to two post-season Capitol One Academic All-America teams. He burnished his Seawolf legacy with three career All-America honors and 10 top-15 showings. Whether at a desk or with skis on his feet, he excelled.

Sometimes when we look at achievers like Sean, we suspect their life is a cruise; they bring so much talent and smarts to the table, just showing up to play means winning accolades. Or so we imagine.

That would not be Sean's story.

Coming back from injuries

Over a long ski career that got very serious by age 15, Sean has battled back from three ACL injuries (two before arriving at UAA) and three full knee reconstructions.

For a time at UAA, injuries seemed to plague him. During a campus Homecoming Shopping Cart Parade in October 2012, Sean was helping dismantle the ski team's decorated shopping cart-a crowd favorite-when the slip of a dull knife left him with a bad cut on one hand. After recovering from that injury, he tore his ACL (for a third time) in spring of 2013 as he tried to get back into serious competition. In August that year, he had knee surgery, and a Staph infection developed. The result: a week in the hospital and forgoing competition for the 2014 season.

It was times like these that his ski teammates really mattered.

"The last ACL hit me hard," he said by phone from his home in Calgary. "That night it had me in tears, thinking I probably won't ever ski again." But, he added, "Our team up there, we're a lot of international students. We're far away from home, and so we've become a very tight group. Support from the team was a huge part of getting through it all."

Academics was challenging too, though not in the same way. Sean remembers the competitive intensity of his early  years. As a teen he qualified to ski for Alberta's team and he actively chased Olympic dreams and World Cup ambitions. To do that meant traveling up to 70 days a year, time away from his high school classmates and academics. He still managed to graduate high school with honors, but said the time struggles were real. "I never considered myself an A student by any means."

When his early ski injuries foreclosed advancement to an Olympic or professional athletic career, it was natural for Sean to turn to college sports. He wanted a school where he could do well academically and still ski. Of those he checked out, UAA became his No. 1, thanks to reviews from other Alberta athletes who'd also skied for the Green and Gold and provided first-hand information. In particular, he remembers Canadian female skier Alex Parker finishing UAA with a GPA of 3.9. He wanted that for himself: college skiing plus strong academic opportunities.

How he chose economics

Sean says he grew up curious about how things work in the world. He thought this personal interest might steer him toward engineering. But, when he looked at balancing that degree with skiing obligations, he decided to consider other options.

"I wanted to do something that I was going to be able to succeed at, that still interested me, and still succeed at my sport," Sean said.

His first semester in management led to a microeconomics class with professor Kyle Hampton. "Really, he sold me on the whole economics thing," Sean said. So he shifted his desire to understand how mechanical and physical things work, to better understanding-through economics-why our systems are in place and how they work. "That was extremely interesting to me," Sean said, "and I wanted to know more. [Economics] really developed that thirst for knowledge in me."

His capstone research project drew on his Alberta roots and his Alaska exposure. Both places are known for oil and resource extraction. Sean was curious whether natural resources in an economy caused corruption. Both Alaska and Alberta have experienced political corruption during their resource heydays. Ultimately, Sean says his work did not draw a direct connection between the presence of natural resources and corruption, and he also learned a lot about flaws in data and how that can impact a study.

Sean has lots more questions about how economic systems work, and would consider grad school or a certification program in the future. But for now, he is happy to jump into the job market. When we spoke in late June, he said he'd been offered a position at Solium, a software service provider that helps companies manage employee equity compensation. He can't wait to get started.

Advice for those coming after

Asked if he had advice for students on how to balance college sports and academics, Sean took the question seriously. Something he developed at UAA was a yoga routine. "Yoga was huge for me, not just physically but mentally as well. It helps you to clear your head and get away from all the 'stuff' in your life," he said. He took  a class at UAA but also supplemented that with classes at local Anchorage yoga studios.

Another tip he offered college students is to hit the gym early nearly every day for a good wake-up. In between time on the snow during ski season, and especially during finals, Sean said he considered the gym a necessary first stop of the day.

"At least get in there and ride the bike. Get the blood flowing. You come into the classroom much more awake and ready to hear from your professors," he said. He called this kind of attention to physical well-being a huge part of his college success.

Once an athlete, always an athlete. Since returning home to Calgary for the job hunt, Sean's been on a bike a lot, both in the mountains and on the roadways. "You get the same power generation as running," he said, "and similar cardio"-but no pounding to the knees. "Plus I really enjoy it, especially the high-speed terrain adaptation."

Gratitude

Sean said he could not part from UAA without expressing gratitude for his ski coach, Sparky Anderson.

"The system at UAA was incredible. Sparky gets well-deserved recognition for his consistent base of support over my five years there, two when I was coming back from injuries. The whole team, the department, the trainers behind the scenes keeping  your joints working-they were all terrific."

A key influence on Sean even before arriving at UAA was his coach during his teen years. He says that mentor turned him into the committed athlete who would one day be capable of skiing for the Seawolves. His name was Jason LaPierre.

"I was a 15-year-old scrawny little kid back in Alberta. Jason took us into the gym four or five days a week. He took me from 100 pounds to 130 pounds, which matters in this sport. He'd ask us, 'How much do you want to be better and how much are you willing to work for it?'"

LaPierre "took me from a decent skier to an athlete who qualified to compete for Alberta, and eventually win a college scholarship," Sean said. Besides adding muscle that helped him compete against older more powerful skiers, LaPierre introduced mental fitness to Sean.

Thanks to LaPierre, Sean said, "Despite all the social pressures of being a teenager, I managed to maintain my focus."

There is a touch of sadness for Sean around the memory of this important coach. LaPierre wasn't around to see him compete and succeed at UAA. He died in a tragic accident outside of Calgary in 2006. An automobile driver suffered an epileptic seizure, causing the driver to cross traffic lanes and strike Jason on a bicycle training ride.

"He was one of the biggest motivational influences in my life," Sean said. Even at UAA, Sean often started a race with a thought of LaPierre. "I'd look up and think, 'I wish you were here with me right now."

The lesson to all those young athletes coming behind Sean? Honor and appreciate every mentor who comes into your life because they help you become all that you can be.

Written by Kathleen McCoy, UAA Office of University Advancement