Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 6 | June 2021

20 Inside Hokie Sports @PrestonsRestaurant @InnVirginiaTech 540.231.0120 | www.InnatVirginiaTech.com 901 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (inside The Inn at Virginia Tech) Reservations recommended. A delicious game-day tradition. B EFORE THE GAME OR AFTER, Preston’s Restaurant is a delicious place for a new game-day tradition. Start with our fresh breakfast. Order lunch or dinner from our mouth-watering menu of seasonal cuisine. Sip on hand-cra ed cocktails or a selection from our award-winning wine list. And don’t forget the Valley’s best brunch, every Sunday at Preston’s. Make Preston’s Restaurant your game-day tradition. Lewis started in the infantry, excelled in boot camp, and was promoted to airborne infantry in short order. Pursuing a dream The entire reason Lewis joined the military was to get a college degree and when he returned to the United States after serving his country, he made that his top priority. Near the end of his time in themilitary, he got into physical conditioning and physical training. It came naturally and was how he differentiated himself in the military. An old squad leader had briefly gone to college to major in exercise science and lent some old textbooks to Lewis. “I thought ‘you can go to school for this? This is amazing!” Lewis said. He knew he was hooked. He took remedial courses at West Virginia University to build a foundational education to make up for not having a formal high school education. After admittance to the exercise physiology program at West Virginia University, Lewis soaked up everything he could. One of the professors, Jean McCrory, noticed Lewis and his continual effort to learn. She recommended that he transfer to another university to get more hands- on research as an undergraduate. Based on his transcripts, she told Lewis he could go anywhere. He applied to the University of North Carolina, Wake Forest University, and the University of Virginia. He was admitted to all of the schools and got scholarships to each one and Lewis accepted a full academic ride to Wake Forest. “You can imagine that a tattooed 20 something-year-old, as an undergrad at Wake Forest, a traditional school and a great school, and you’re going to class with like people that are 17 and graduated early. It was an interesting dichotomy,” Lewis said. “I got to experience what I wanted which was to be an undergraduate engulfed in research.” In addition to the research, Lewis worked with Wake Forest’s strength and conditioning coach for the women’s soccer team and did personal training outside of his other responsibilities to keep one foot in research and one in application. Lewis graduated in 2014. His desire to continue his education didn’t stop, and he earned his master’s from the University of South Carolina to bring full-time sports scientists to collegiate and professional sports. Coming full circle When Lewis’ biological grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer, it changed everything. “She had no money, nothing,” Lewis said. “I decided to come to Virginia Tech to pursue my Ph.D. to be close to her.” Before he started his Ph.D., Lewis earned two master’s degrees, one in public health and another in higher education at Virginia Tech. It took a little time, and Lewis got his mentor and into the program. “Marc sets a high bar for himself and doesn’t let obstacles distract him from his goals. He is a highly motivated individual focused on generating high-quality work,” said Kevin Davy, a professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise and Lewis’ Ph.D. mentor. “It has been a privilege to work with Dr. Lewis at Virginia Tech and to see the impact he’s had in the classroom and on the athletic field.” Lewis interned with Greg Werner and the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team, which in turn introduced him to the Virginia Tech football team. “Grit and perseverance are two of the qualities we emphasize frequently in our football program. There’s no shortage of guys on our team who have rebounded from injuries, hardships, or other obstacles to enjoy success on the football field. However, I’d suggest that perhaps no one else currently associated with Virginia Tech Football has overcome bigger odds in life to achieve what Marc Lewis has done,” said Virginia Tech head Football Coach Justin Fuente. “Marc is an incredibly valuable member of our team who incorporates science and technology to maximize the potential of our student-athletes,” Coach Fuente continued. “But even more importantly, Marc serves as a real-life example of someone who embodies the traits we value the most as a football team. Whether it’s the unimaginable stress of upbringing, his heroic service to our country in the U.S. Army, or his steadfast determination to get a college degree, Marc has deservedly earned the respect of our players, coaches, and staff. He’s a remarkable man with Continued from page 19