Though her achievements on the volleyball court were numerous, what Elizabeth Gower remembers and values most about life at Naperville Central are the relationships that came from her time in the gym. “All of my coaches and teammates were instrumental in my success,” she shared. “Without the day-to-day coaching by Mr. [John] Garrison and my club coaches and practicing against all of my teammates, I would not have been able to become the volleyball player that I did.”And what a volleyball player she was. Her incredible talent, fierce style of play, and highly focused training earned her 2nd team All-State honors in 1997. In 1998, her decorated senior year, she was named the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Naperville Sun and Champaign News-Gazette Player of the Year. She earned 1st team All-State honors, as well as the distinction of being named Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois. Gower remembers well the thrill of competition and the rush of achieving team and individual goals.Vivid in her memory is “playing in the state finals, beating Mother McAuley, who was ranked number 1 in the state at the time and a perpetual volleyball powerhouse, 15-0 in the first game of the state finals.” Pride in that triumph was echoed by another favorite memory of “beating Downers Grove South in the Regionals after losing the first game 15-0.” A common theme in her high school highlight reel: persistence against all odds, fueled by unwavering belief in herself and her teammates.Yet the victory glow that remains strong years later is overshadowed by lighter time spent with teammates. Gower laughed, “I spent so much time playing volleyball that almost all of my memories involve playing volleyball or hanging out with my teammates. We had an annual tradition of toilet papering our coach’s house. That was always a lot of fun.” Though not one to pass up an opportunity for fun with teammates, Gower tackled her athletic and academic responsibilities and opportunities with an incomparable drive. Her hard work and keen ability to balance all of life’s demands helped her to graduate fifth in her class. Today, Gower advises current students to “pursue sports and academics with equal passion. Being an athlete in high school and college is a lot of fun, but unfortunately, most of our athletic careers are relatively short lived. If you pursue success in your academics like you do with athletics, you will create opportunities to be successful for the rest of your life.”This dual pursuit of excellence propelled Gower to a storied academic and athletic career at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering while starting every match of her four years. She was named to the Big XII All-Conference and AVCA All-Region teams in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, honors that stand as a testament to her on-court performance. Yet her beyond-the-court achievements are equally notable, as she was named to the Academic All-Region team in 2000 and 2002 and achieved Academic All-American status in 2002, her senior season. Gower vividly remembers intense matches, citing “playing in front of a record-setting crowd of 12,504 fans at the University of Nebraska and playing in the NCAA tournament three years” as her favorite collegiate memories.While her athletic career has ended, Gower has not relinquished her positive, proactive approach to her goals. Since graduating, she has worked for Chevron, Chesapeake Energy, and Scout Energy Partners as a petroleum engineer, a job she truly loves. She and her husband, Daniel Clem, are the proud parents of Abigail (age 5), Sarah (age 3) and Jacob (8 months) and have made a happy home in Southlake, Texas. Whether the Clem children will follow their mom’s footsteps on to the volleyball court remains to be seen. No matter what paths they do pursue, however, one thing is certain: Gower will help them enjoy their journeys as much as the end results, as she experienced firsthand that relationships, especially those born of sport, are some of the most powerful experiences in life.