Wildcats sign letter of intents at banquet

WAELDER — It’s never too late to find a path to college.

Waelder’s Steven Ewing found this out after inking his name to paper, officially declaring his intent to sign on with Huston Tillotson University in Austin.

During the Wildcats’ annual athletic banquet, both Ewing and Antonio Morales were celebrated as athletes continuing their athletic and educational work through college, with Ewing signing on to HTU and Morales signing on with Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi as a basketball manager.

But if you were to tell Ewing at the start of the year that he’d be going to college and still in athletics, he’d be shocked.

“It’s something I always thought would never happen to me,” he admitted. “It’s like a dream come true and I got to give them my best just like in high school and I can’t give up. It’s just the next step for me.”

Ewing has been a vital part of the Wildcats’ basketball team but his success running track is what led him to an offer from HTU.

“I had lots of schools wanting me to run the mile in track,” Ewing said. “I was trying to figure out the best offer and not so far away from home and when I went to go visit their college it felt like a home away from home. It seemed to be the best decision for me.”

He’s expressed interest in running the two-mile race as well though it looks like he’ll stick to running the mile.

Huston Tillotson University is a private historically black university out in Austin. Nicknamed the Rams, they are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and primarily compete in the Red River Athletic Conference along with University of Houston-Victoria, Jarvis Christian College, Langston University, Louisiana State University at Alexandria, Louisiana State Universality in Shreveport, Our Lady of the Lake University, Paul Quinn College, University of St. Thomas, University of the Southwest, Texas College and Wiley College.

As for in the classroom, Ewing has signed up to major in business administration. Always keeping Waelder on his mind, the Wildcat wants to use his time in college to learn as much as he can about running a business so he can take this knowledge back home.

“I want to rebuild the family business, Country Kitchen, and turn it into something that my grandpa and my grandma and my dad will be proud of,” he said.

Ewing hopes that he’s on the right track to accomplishing these goals.

It’s never too late to get there, but he understands that the path to college may be a bit easier if all the work is put in as soon as possible.

“Put your work in early,” he advises younger Wildcats. “When you’re at the end and you’ll look back and say ‘I could have done this’ or ‘I could have done that’ when really today you can be doing it, you can be getting better every day while everyone is at home messing around, you can be putting work in.”