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by Caden Clawson
Senior Dante Lowe does everything from being an SBO to cooking with his family. But what he enjoys the most is sports.
“He definitely has goals in what he wants to do,” said Bryan Holder, Lowe’s uncle. “He loves sports. That kid would eat, breathe, watch, smell, whatever it comes to when it comes to sports. It doesn’t matter what kind.”
Lowe has played golf, soccer, basketball and football at NS. Soccer is his favorite sport to play out of all the sports though.
“I think I’m going to have to put soccer first and then basketball second and football third,” Lowe said. “I love them all though.”
Lowe’s love for soccer shows in his commitment and the effort he puts into the sport.
“The first year he lived with us he was up at soccer up in Payson three times a week,” Holder said. “And he’d take himself there all the time. He wanted it so bad he would make sure he got himself there. There was no influence of us saying, ‘Hey, you need to remember you have this.’ He just did it on his own. He was driven and determined to make sure he got that experience.”
One of the reasons he is so determined in playing sports is it’s more than just a game to him.
“You realize this is more than for you and your team and your teammates,” Lowe said. “It’s for the school. And so now when I try and play I have a chip on my shoulder. It’s crazy to see how much support you get from the community and your school… It’s crazy because you realize it’s more than just a game.”
Realizing what he is playing is more than just a game makes Lowe want to support other sports programs at NS.
“I’ve been going to almost every single student section all four of my years,” Lowe said. “Supporting basketball, volleyball, heck I even went to a golf meet this year.”
Despite playing and supporting other sports and being involved in other extracurricular activities, Lowe still finds time for family.
“He makes time for his sisters, he makes time for his mother, he makes time for his aunts, his uncles, for cousins that are smaller than him,” Holder said.
Lowe’s family situation might look different for a couple of reasons, but he doesn’t mind it. He sees it as a blessing.
“Some people may think it’s crazy but it’s really not,” Lowe said. “And I feel like it’s just helped humble me to become a nicer kid. So yeah, I’m blessed, very blessed.”
Lowe’s parents got divorced when he was five, and he moved around with his mom a lot growing up. He lived with different family members and is currently living with his aunt and uncle while his mom and sisters live in Nephi.
“My aunt and uncle were really nice and thoughtful and let me move in with them while my two sisters moved down back in with my mom,” Lowe said. “And I don’t know if it’s hard on them but for me it hasn’t been too bad. I like it here at North Sanpete and enjoy the school and don’t regret the decisions I’ve made.”
Some people may wonder why he chose to stay in North Sanpete instead of moving with his mom to Juab.
“I think we just offer him that opportunity to continue to do the things that he loves,” Holder said. “And I think that’s what he saw and what he’s grateful for.”
Even though Lowe lives with his aunt and uncle, he and his mom are still close, and his mom supports him in what he does.
“For football at least I don’t think she missed a single game even the Morgan state game and the Canyonview game,” Lowe said. “She hasn’t missed a game and I really appreciate the support she has for me. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
One blessing Lowe has from living with other family members besides his mom is the lessons those families teach him.
“You can definitely tell from the different families he’s lived with he takes on different characteristics,” Holder said. “And I think that shapes exactly what you see and when you hear him talk and you see his actions and you see him being a team player, when you see him taking the lead, whatever it is… He kinda absorbs all of that.”
Lowe is grateful for his family and all they do for him but his family is grateful for the influence he is.
“During the state game against Morgan we all know the team didn’t do fantastic,” Holder said. “But at the end of the game my little boy sent him a Marco Polo and he told him, ‘Dante, you are the best kicker, you’re the best touchdown maker, you’re the best catcher and I love you. That hits me in my heart because now I have a little four- year-old boy that wants to be just like that. I cannot be even more grateful for that kid. I think he doesn’t know how much he does for my family, even though he thinks that we do everything for him.”
One part of Lowe that helps people love him and be grateful for having him is his kind- ness. And he strives to be a kind person.
“Ever since I hear people talk about me, it really makes me feel better and makes me realize I don’t want to lose that,” Lowe said. “I want to stay being the nice kid, stay being that helpful kid. Whenever someone needs me I can be there for them.”
According to his family, people like to talk to Lowe because he is a good listener and will do so no matter what you need to say.
“And if anyone just sits and listens to you for a minute and lets you vent your problems you automatically feel like you’re with a good person,” Holder said. “He’s allowing you to vent your issues. So, at that moment, you’re number one with him. He’s giving you all of his time, all of his attention, everything. You’re number one.”
Lowe enjoys being there for kids and listening to them and feels like that’s something he could do better at.
“When I can’t be there for someone because I’m busy,” Lowe said, “then I just feel bad because I don’t see those things as often as I should. So that’s another thing I need to work on is slowing down and trying to see others as well as trying to do things for myself.”
One of the reasons that make Lowe the kind person he is is from his upbringing and being humble.
“The kid could live bare minimum for a long time,” Holder said. “When he came to live with us, he didn’t even have walls. He barely had a bed, and that’s where he lived. And he was so grateful and so thankful that he had that. And the kid was happy.”
No matter how he does it, Lowe changes kids’ lives.
“I love the kid,” Holder said. “There’s kids that come into your life and they come and go, and they talk and they’re your friends, stuff like that. Then there’s others that come into your life and they change it. I think he changes everybody’s life that he touches.”
