San Francisco State track & field sprinter
Monisha Lewis (nee Davis) added 'graduate' to that list after she earned her BA in Africana Studies in May 2019, following a long road to receive her degree. A mother of two to six-year-old Darrian and five-year-old Journee, Lewis balances the demands of having a family with being a full-time student as well as a top-tier student-athlete like no other.
After a brief stint as a runner at Boise State from 2009-10, academic struggles hindered Lewis' goal of earning her degree. However, after some time off to begin a family, the mother of two did not let that goal slip away as she decided to return to school and finish what she started.
"I will be the first person in my family to graduate," says Lewis. "Two years ago, I graduated from community college, which my brother has also done. That was huge for me because it is very hard to stop something and then go back. I've done a lot of stuff that I started and wasn't able to finish, so for me to finish something, no matter how big or little, was definitely something great. Having my kids there while I finish something on a higher level means everything in that they get to see that it's OK to fall off as long as you get back on and keep going. Being the first one to graduate with my bachelor degree is huge and I'm very excited for that."
Lewis made an instant impact on the 2018 San Francisco State track & field team. She took first place in the 100m hurdles and also broke the program record in her second meet of the season. She finished first in the 100m hurdles and helped the Gators take home the program's first-ever CCAA Championship Lewis' performance earned her All-Conference honors and was tabbed the CCAA Newcomer of the Meet as well as the CCAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year, also the first in program history.
"My first year back was interesting. I was nervous at first because I had so much time off so I thought to myself 'Can I do this?' But I was improving my times every week and it made me feel better because I was competing and getting back in the hang of it."
Lewis continued her stellar postseason at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she set a new program record in the preliminary heat of the 100m hurdles and also placed fourth, clinching a spot in the final. In that championship race she captured a second-place finish and earned All-America status, becoming the first Gator All-American in the 100m hurdles since 1991.
"I knew I could become an All-American, it was just more how was I going to do it," continued Lewis. "Was I going to win? Was I going get the time I wanted? Which didn't necessarily happen every time but it was a good experience getting back out there and getting into the motion of practicing every day while committing to something daily. Being able to come back and be part of a team made it easier for me to continue and keep a consistent routine."
The George and Judy Marcus Scholarship Fund played an integral part in not only her success on the track, but as a mother and wife.
"We tried to move out to the Bay Area in 2013 before my second child and it was so hard for me to go to school and work and get Darrien to where he needs to be. Instead, we moved back home and I e-mailed schools to see if I could just finish my degree. I had given up on running and I just wanted to finish school, but I knew with my past grades that I couldn't just get into school traditionally so I needed help. I figured I could run to help get back into school, but that not much would come of it."
After reaching out to schools, Lewis heard back from former the SF State coaching staff, who worked in tandem with the athletics administration to get Lewis to SF State, and the George and Judy Marcus Scholarship Fund made it all possible.
"The staff really pushed and did everything they could to get me into school and I was very fortunate for that because the Bay Area is somewhere I've always wanted to be," said Lewis. "There is so much opportunity here so being able to have financial help allowed my husband to go to work and for me to focus on school and trying to get the kids where they need to go. The staff and the generosity of George and Judy Marcus played a huge part in me being as successful as possible and I'm forever grateful for that."
2019 will be Lewis' final collegiate season and she plans on going out with a bang while also focusing on another career goal.
"Last year was about proving myself and having a staff that believed in me more than what any other school did. That made it easier to work on my dream again of going pro in the 2020 Olympics," said Lewis.
In addition to racing in Tokyo in 20 months, Lewis also wants to help younger athletes reach their goals.
"I journal every day. I write down what we did for practice and how I felt and it's great being able to look back at a specific race and how I ran in that interval of practice and coach's comments and what we talked about was big for me. I created an Athlete's Journal and my plan for that is to reach out to local high schools and start speaking to athletes about the importance of journaling and never giving up. For me, that's what kept me pushing. Once I write something down I've made it real so I think it's huge for younger athletes to know that things happen throughout life but it's never the end. Being able to journal and reach out to youth is huge because my end goal is still be involved in sports and let future generations know that they can always continue to reach their goals."
