GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Men's lacrosse senior Adam Bowers took a pretty normal route to becoming a student-athlete at Davenport.  He was a three-sport athlete at Lowell High School excelling in the sport of lacrosse, earning all-conference and team MVP honors.  He is in his last season with the DU lacrosse team as a two-time 1st team MCLA D2 All-American, but his endeavors away from lacrosse are anything but normal.

For the last two summers Adam has ventured to Alaska as a fly fishing guide.  “It's not that exciting of a story, but it all started when I read a book called the “Alaskan Chronicles.”  The book is basically a log of a fly fisherman and details the author's adventures in Alaska.  It was enough to spark Adam's interest and research possible lodges in Alaska where he could work.

“I sent in my application to some lodges and got a call from one of them stating they had an opening.  I did some phone interview with them and then they offered me a position as a main lodge worker.”  His parents didn't quite believe him when Adam told them he was going to Alaska for the summer.  “They were a little shocked and I had to show them the emails between me and the lodge.”

During his first summer in Alaska, he did general work at the lodge then started learning the ropes of fly fishing and guiding float trips.  “We basically fly to a remote spot and get dropped off in a remote area.  Then we spend the next week floating back to the lodge, fishing along the way, of course.”

They don't let just anybody lead these trips.  Adam has a variety of licenses and certifications to be able to lead a variety of excursions.  He even went to Colorado last fall to learn how to lead raft trips.

He has worked with a variety of fishermen, but the most interesting things he encounters on the trips are grizzly bears.  “Bears stay with their mothers for the first two years of their life.  The yearlings can be very mischevious.  They're pretty much giant kids.”

Adam has encountered this more than once on his trips.  The bears will chew on the gas tanks for the rafts and take their boots from camp.  They are really after the leftovers from the fish they catch on the trip.  “Sometimes they will sit and watch me clean and filet the fish so they can get the scraps right away.  I was definitely freaked out at first because they are really big animals.”

This coming summer will be Adam's third in Alaska.  He doesn't know how long he will continue to return, but he has plans to further his education so he forsees at least a few more trips in between semesters.

As his time at Davenport is winding down with graduation only a month away, Adam has learned to enjoy the blessings of college.  He does still work 20-24 hours at Gander Mountain during the school year, but he has realized that the benefits of being a student-athlete do not last forever.  “Balance is so important and is a hard lesson to learn.  I have tried not to get caught up in work and take advantage of all the opportunities that college provides.”