Alumni Spotlight – Pete Dzwilewski, ’87
Written by Monica VanDerWeide, ’95
Pete was a walk-on to Hillsdale’s track team. A pole vaulter in high school, he wanted to try a different sport due to his changing physique. “I was a late bloomer,” he laughs. “I gained weight late in high school, and it became harder to vault.” Learning the proper technique for the javelin throw proved to be a long, rigorous, and often frustrating process. “I came in last at every meet my freshman year,” he recalls. “My first coach, Coach Rogers, encouraged me never to give up.”
By sophomore year, Pete’s performance began to improve. “Coach Bill Tefft worked a lot with me. He filmed my performances and reviewed them with me,” he says. In Pete’s junior year, Bill Lundberg assumed leadership of the track and field program, and Pete reached a turning point in his track career. “I remember a meet at Grand Valley State where I threw over 200 feet. From that point forward, I never lost a meet.” In 1987, Pete set a school record with a throw of 201’2″, a record that still stands.
A finance and Spanish major, Pete was active in academic and social activities as well as athletics. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and the Spanish honorary, and he sang in the College Choir. He also participated in a study-abroad program in Seville, Spain. After graduating from Hillsdale, he joined the University of Chicago track club and continued to compete briefly, but the demands of graduate school and work soon became too time-consuming. He earned an MBA from Marquette University and began his career in 1988 at Exxon Mobil, working in various marketing positions with the company for 18 years.
In 2006, Pete joined Sutter Health, a healthcare startup, as director of Sutter Express Care. After five years there, he joined Starbucks as a regional operations director out of Portland, Oregon, for three years, before returning to Exxon Mobil in 2015 and relocating to the Los Angeles area. “I have moved my family 11 times,” he says. His family includes his wife of 27 years, Tracy, and their children: Mathew (25), Katlyn (23), and Jonny (19).
As Pete reflects on his time at Hillsdale, he notes how its outstanding academic program, which attracted him to the College in the first place, and the relationships he forged, made all the difference in his life. “A liberal arts education from Hillsdale taught me to be an independent thinker, and to be inquisitive and open-minded to new thoughts, ideas, and opportunities,” he says. “From my track coaches, I learned the valuable lessons of persistence, hard work, and a competitive spirit, which has paid dividends throughout my life and career.”
Monica VanDerWeide is Director of Marketing Content for Hillsdale College. She graduated from Hillsdale in 1995 with a degree in English and German.
Published in January 2022