Growing up playing football, basketball, and track and field in Paterson, N.J., Ya’Meer Thomas-Lowery ’25DPT–like many young athletes–wanted to go to a Division I university to continue his athletic and academic careers. While that did not happen, he figured out that he did not have to rise to that level in order to have an impact on athletics and other athletes. 

“As an athlete, you spend a lot of time with athletic trainers,” Thomas-Lowery explained. “So you start to get interested. For me, if I’m going to a Division III school, the NFL is now slim. So what’s the next best thing? I wanted to go into sports medicine, which eventually led to physical therapy.”

Thomas-Lowery completed his undergraduate studies at Albright College, where he also played football, and then attended West Chester University for his master’s in athletic training. While at West Chester, he applied for the Otho Davis Scholarship for the first time, which is awarded annually to two graduate students studying sports medicine or a related field. 

“The Scholarship Committee at West Chester chose me to apply, but when I look back at my application, it wasn’t that great,” he said. “I could write a book about my story, so it was hard to boil it down to a certain character count. Also, I was just getting started on my master’s, so there were definitely other more deserving applicants at that point”

This did not deter Thomas-Lowery though. He applied for and was accepted into Arcadia’s hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy program, where Dr. Therese Johnston, professor of Physical Therapy, encouraged him to try for the scholarship again. After completing internships with the athletic training staffs at USA Field Hockey and the Washington Commanders, along with working with athletes at West Chester University and Ursinus College in sports like gymnastics and volleyball, he felt like he had a better chance this time around.

“My service now was up to par, my sports background was better, my GPA was still high, and now, I have financial needs. So all of the boxes were checked.”

The Otho Davis Scholarship Foundation celebrated Thomas-Lowery as one of two  Scholarship recipients at the 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet in November. He is the first Arcadia student to receive the scholarship since Sarah Ernesto ’14DPT in 2013. The funds, which will be applied to Thomas-Lowery’s tuition at Arcadia, will allow him to begin saving money in order to help him complete his last clinical rotation with athletes at Rutgers University.

“When I first got the Rutgers clinical, I wondered how I was going to pay for everything that goes along with it like housing and food costs,” he said. “This helps answer that question. It takes some stress off my plate and helps take the financial aspect off my mind.”

The Scholarship was established in 1999 at a dinner honoring Otho Davis, head trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles for 23 years. Davis requested that the proceeds go toward students in sports medicine, physical training, or sports marketing.

Thomas-Lowery hopes to one day be able to give back like Davis.

“This experience opened my eyes to the future. I see this scholarship and what it did for me, so I want to be able to be the individual that can shine a light on the next young clinician, physical therapist, athletic trainer from Paterson, New Jersey, or wherever it may be.”