Tight-knit bonds formed among wrestlers leave lifelong impact
Dylan Lydy (HHS’19) came to college to wrestle. The fact that he also fell in love with his major was incidental. As a 21st Century Scholar, Lydy never had to worry about securing scholarship assistance as an undergraduate. The program covers up to four years of tuition. Lydy graduated with a degree in physical education in May. Now, his athletic scholarship is covering a fifth year, which he is using to pursue a master’s in sports and recreational management.
“The only motivation for me to go to school was to be involved in college athletics,” Lydy says. “Now, I’m starting to make a career out of it.”
Over the years, Lydy’s made sacrifices for the sport he loves, such as finishing last season competing with an injured shoulder. He reasoned that he wasn’t going to damage it further, and he needed shoulder reconstruction surgery anyway, it didn’t make sense for him or for the team to sit it out.
“Wrestlers are some of the hardest workers you’ll find,” he says. “Wrestling is a giant family — across teams, across the world. Wrestling is a culture unto itself. It’s a close group of people. No one bats an eye when we do extraordinary things. It’s just what you do for family.”
Lydy credits his coaches and teammates for developing him into a competitive student-athlete. He now serves on the leadership council, mentoring other student-athletes, and he hopes to coach in the future.
“My coaches and my teammates have invested in me as a person, not just a wrestler,” Lydy says. “If I can give a fraction of what I was able to receive in my youth, the life lessons I’ve learned in wrestling, if I can be a part of that development process for another individual, that would be really special. I can’t think of anything better than that.”
This story appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of Purdue Alumnus magazine.
