Climb every Mountain Tom Pappas
’12
Photos: Schreiner grad Tom Pappas stands at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. “I just finished climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,331 ft., the tallest free standing mountain in the world,” he e-mailed. “The last few hours to the top was more difficult than the Ironman, I didn’t think I was going to make it back down alive for a little while until the sun just broke the horizon.” at right, Pappas finishes his first Ironman Triathlon. By LOuISe KOhL Leahy
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hen Tom Pappas ’12 starting thinking about college, Schreiner wasn’t on his list. In fact, his list didn’t include any schools that didn’t have a lacrosse program.
“I spent some time at other schools,” Pappas, who has learning disabilities, said. “I didn’t start with Schreiner even though it was a perfect match for me academically. And even though my father (Harris Pappas ’62) went here.” Lacrosse notwithstanding, he was not happy with the first schools he attended. “When I took tests at the other schools, the teachers would sometimes just grab the tests out of my hands,” said Pappas. “I took so long to finish they thought I couldn’t understand the material, but all I needed was more time.” Pappas switched his focus to Schreiner and its Learning Support
18 Summer 2012 SCENE
Services program, but not without some help. “To get me to come here, my dad and my sister basically kidnapped me,” Pappas said. “They told me we were going to some restaurant. I fell asleep in the car and woke up on campus.” At the end of his first semester at Schreiner, Pappas had a 4.0 GPA. “I had to develop a style of learning before I even started college,” he said. “LSS ensures teachers will accommodate that style, while helping you improve your efficiency at processing, so it becomes an advantage not a disadvantage. LSS is the most fantastic program for students with learning disabilities in the entire country.” The one disadvantage about coming to Schreiner is all the time he had on his hands now that he wasn’t playing
and training for lacrosse. “I got here and I wasn’t sure what to do with all that time,” Pappas said, “so I sent e-mails to people about cross-country, soccer and fraternities. In less than I week, I went from having nothing to do to being completely involved.” Pappas was on the cross-country and soccer teams, and was a member of Chi Phi fraternity during his time at Schreiner. He was a member of the student senate and president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. He also competed as a member of the Schreiner Shooting Sports Society. Recently he competed on the nine-member skeet team that brought home a silver medal from the Association of College Unions International national championships in San Antonio. “We’re a small school, but we shoot very competitively