Sept. 27, 2021, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- At 27, Stephanie Thomas thought she was too old.
Too old for college. Too old for a rewarding career. And most certainly too old to become a cross-country All-American at Grand Rapids Community College.
“But GRCC really taught me that you never know what gifts you have until someone inspires you to go for it,” said Thomas, who earned an associate degree in Criminal Justice at GRCC in 2018.
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Now 31, Thomas is finishing work on a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Grand Valley State University. Already working at Gerald R. Ford International Airport as a TSA officer, she hopes to one day advance to the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Customs or another of the 22 agencies housed within the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s a whole new world for Thomas, who tried other colleges after graduating in 2008 from Grand Rapids Christian High School. But they never clicked for her.
Years later, her fiancé, Derrick Diepenhorst, convinced Thomas to give GRCC a try.
“He told me that because I’m half Native American, tuition would be waived at any public community college or university in Michigan,” Thomas said. “But I was already 25 years old and I didn’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of young kids and feel like the odd one out.”
Nevertheless, she enrolled at GRCC and soon fell in love with her Criminal Justice courses. Although Thomas only played sports a little bit in middle school, she decided to try running as a way to get into better shape.
Little did she imagine how good she’d be.
Running on the treadmill in early 2017 at GRCC’s Ford Fieldhouse, Thomas watched a woman approach her and place a handwritten note on the machine: “You’d be a great runner for the cross-country team.”
That woman was Sharon Becker, then-assistant coach of GRCC’s cross-country team.
Becker was cross training on a stationary bike located behind the treadmill where Thomas happened to be running again.
“I watched her running at a pace that I thought looked somewhat fast,” Becker said. “I figured, ‘She is going too fast to keep up that pace for more than a few minutes. She’ll stop and walk soon.’”
Becker stayed on the stationary bike to complete her 30-minute workout and Thomas was still running at the same quick pace.
“Although I still felt like I could still be rejected or scorned, I figured I won’t know if I don’t ask,” Becker said, “I can at least tell her ‘good job.’”
Thomas was surprised. She thought she was too old to be a member of the team.
“I laughed and said, ‘I know I look young. But I’m 27 and almost 10 years older than some of these kids on the team.’" she said. "I mean, I’d never even run cross-country in middle school or high school. I still can’t believe she took a chance on me.”
That fall, something magical happened. Not only did Thomas discover she loved running, she was also really, really good at it.
At the Raiders’ first 5K race of the season, Thomas ran under a 7-minute mile and came in at 20:22. Her race times only improved from there, and six weeks later at the Muskegon Jayhawk Cross-Country Invitational meet, Thomas broke GRCC’s women’s 5K record with a time of 19:24. The record still stands.
“When I crossed the finish line, Coach Matt (Sicilia) said something about breaking the women’s record. I said, ‘I can’t breathe, but that’s cool,’” she said.
Later that season, Thomas and two teammates advanced all the way to the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships in Iowa, which included runners from larger programs. She placed 35th in a field of 309 with 19:20 – earning her All-American status as well as breaking her own record at GRCC.
“I call it the greatest day of my life because my entire family came all the way to Iowa to watch me compete in Nationals as a 27-year-old,” she said.
Six months later, Thomas completed her associate degree and left GRCC … until last spring when Becker came calling again, this time asking her to join the team as assistant coach.
And she loves it.
“I’m so grateful for all that GRCC gave me,” she said. “I know now that you’re always going to miss out if you don’t take the chance. I’m so glad I did.”
The team finished seventh place in the NJCAA National Tournament, with two women earning All-American status - but neither breaking Thomas' record.
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This story was reported by Beth McKenna for GRCC.