By Sean Cartell – UK Media Relations
Kentucky running back Alexis Bwenge (ah-LEX-ee buh-GEENG-ee) is working hard this off-season to prepare for his future career. The training requires long hours, knowing the ?playbook? and being a team player.
But the St. Apollinaire, Quebec, native?s summer conditioning is not what you might think. Bwenge is preparing for life after football by serving an internship for the Kentucky Sports Authority (KSA) in Frankfort.
The KSA is an initiative created by Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher on Jan. 4, 2005 with the intent to attract major sporting events and conferences to the Bluegrass State.
The discipline and work-ethic that have become Bwenge?s trademarks on the field are helping him transition from the gridiron to the state?s capital. The fifth-year senior is finding that there are many similarities between the two aspects of his life.
?I?ve basically approached my internship just like any other semester of classes,? Bwenge said. ?It involves making sure that I get to work early so that I can leave early to get back to UK and work out.?
Bwenge often is forced to rise as early as 5 a.m. to make the 30-mile trek across I-64 to Frankfort. He must complete 400 hours at his internship location as a requirement for his master?s degree in public administration.
His workday begins at 6:30 a.m., and after eight hours on the job, Bwenge must make the journey back to Lexington in order to perform his football conditioning exercises.
Despite Bwenge?s nonchalant attitude in regard to his busy schedule, Terry Johnson, the Executive Director of the KSA, says Bwenge should be lauded for his time-management skills.
?Alexis deserves a lot of credit in the time-management area,? Johnson said. ?He must complete 400 hours of work this summer which requires a lot of dedication from an intern. When you add in the running and weightlifting he must complete to stay in shape for the season, that?s quite a schedule to keep.?
Ron Caragher, UK?s running backs coach, agrees that Bwenge?s balancing act is an attribute of which the fifth-year senior should be proud.
?Alexis is a young man who is very disciplined and focused,? Caragher said. ?He is going to be successful at anything he sets out to do. He?s one of the best guys at time management that I?ve been around, so when he has a tight schedule he?s going to do a good job of balancing everything.?
Bwenge, who prides himself on academics and recently graduated with a bachelor?s degree in political science, knows the juggling act all too well.
?As student-athletes we?re used to putting in hard work and having discipline, so it?s not that difficult to balance things outside of football,? Bwenge said.
Johnson notes that in addition to Bwenge?s work ethic, he brings a unique perspective to the table with his experiences as a student-athlete.
?Alexis sees things from a different perspective than we do as sports business people,? Johnson said. ?Sometimes we get caught up in the sponsorships and marketing, but lose sight of the athlete experience at the events. Alexis brings that to the table.?
While the transition to college life can be life-changing for a number of students, Bwenge?s move to the University of Kentucky was a little different than most.
Rewind to the fall of 2001. Bwenge grew up in French-speaking Quebec, where he played for Champlain Prep and helped his team to two conference championships. His adaptation to college life not only involved a new area and a new group of people, but also a new language. And he soon found that textbook English didn?t prepare him for the colloquialisms of the locker room.
?The transition wasn?t that hard in the classroom,? Bwenge said. ?I did fine and I was able to understand what everyone was saying. But in the locker room, it was difficult trying to figure out what my teammates were talking about.?
Five years later, Bwenge is thriving both in the classroom and on the football field. He has been named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll three consecutive years and also was named a first-team Academic All-District IV by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
?Alexis is a great kid and a great role model,? Caragher said. ?It?s not necessarily what he does with his ?talk,? but what he does with his ?walk.? He is very committed and disciplined. The example that he sets is only going to help his teammates get better and the team get better.?
Bwenge has been putting in extensive hours of research with the KSA that focus on a number of different aspects of sport in Kentucky, including event rights-holders, leagues, franchises, organizations, what the state currently hosts in the way of sporting events and what the surrounding states are doing. He also is working on compiling a facilities guide with the hopes of swaying prominent sporting events to the Bluegrass State. In addition, Bwenge has helped with the Governor?s Louisville Arena Task Force. He knows that his education in both aspects of his life have allowed him to be a successful contributor to the KSA.
?My background in both political science and public administration has really helped me,? Bwenge said. ?I can go to meetings, understand the terminology and really contribute to the discussion.?
Bwenge, who has played in all 35 games of his three-year playing career at UK, is thankful that both his education on and off the field has prepared him for his future career.
?UK has been such a good experience,? Bwenge said. ?I?ve had the opportunity to play big-time football and I?ve had a lot of really great teachers. The one thing that I?ve learned the most about in college, though, is myself and how disciplined I need to be.?
Caragher concurs that Bwenge?s commitment to athletics and academics is the key to the fullback?s success.
?Alexis takes care of business on and off the field,? Caragher said. ?He?s one of those guys that you don?t have to worry about because you know he?s going to do the right thing.?
Bwenge, whose discipline and determination drive him each day, knows that his experiences at UK have more than prepared him to travel down whatever path in life he chooses to take.
