International Student Profile: Dan Lomas
By James Ensor, News Editor //
Some students stay close to home when choosing a college; however, Dan Lomas crossed the borders of his native country to receive an education.
Lomas is from Burlington, Ontario. Although Canada isn’t far from the United States in terms of airline travel, the vast distance is still apparent for Lomas and his family.
“The hardest thing about going to school here is being so far away from home,” Lomas said. “Not so much for me but for my parents since I’m the youngest and the last one to leave the house.”
While home might feel far away, Lomas’ parents get the opportunity to visit the U.S. for a few of his lacrosse games at HPU.
“I’m really involved with the lacrosse team and my parents come down to watch me play a few times each year,” Lomas said.
Lomas was actually introduced to HPU through lacrosse and now plays on the university’s highly successful Div. I men’s lacrosse team.
“I was committed to play lacrosse at a school in Rochester [N.Y.] when I was recruited here,” Lomas said. “I couldn’t say no once I visited the [HPU] campus.”
Both of Lomas’ older brothers had the opportunity to play Div. I hockey but decided to stay home instead. As a result, they encouraged Lomas to study abroad since they didn’t.
“My brothers told me that I should take the chance to experience a different culture and do something that not many people get the opportunity to do,” Lomas said.
Three years after listening to his brothers’ advice, Lomas is a junior studying business administration with a minor in marketing.
“I’ve been so lucky to be able to travel everywhere,” Lomas said. “I get to go home with my friends on break to visit different places in the U.S. as well as travel for lacrosse to play games.”
Currently Lomas’ future after HPU is still unclear; however, he has a few ideas as to where he would like to be.
“I would like to be a grad assistant coach somewhere to get my master’s and then decide whether or not I want to go back to Canada,” Lomas said. “I think it would also be pretty cool to pursue professional lacrosse just to say I did it.”
In terms of the culture and atmosphere of the U.S., Lomas had a smooth transition.
“The way people live here is very similar to Canada,” Lomas said. “There wasn’t a huge transition for me as people are really nice here.”
As Lomas prepares for his final year at HPU, he will continue to utilize his team for support as he plans for his future.
“My favorite thing is being part of my team,” Lomas said. “Being surrounded by all of those guys has been really helpful.”