One of USN’s newest alumni, Owen Block ‘23, is already making waves beyond the school.
For Block and many others, USN is a 13-year institution, a place where they spend the years between kindergarten and 12th grade. Thirteen years is not forever, though. As Block moves on, he aims to be one of the next success stories from USN’s alumni network.
Now in his junior year at Washington University in St. Louis, Block, the older brother of Wyatt Block ‘26, reflects on his transition into his freshman year of college.
“It can be intimidating, but it’s meant to be exploratory. I think it’s exciting to make the most of that, and explore the city, explore experiences around campus…connecting with new people that you might live with or be in class with. Making friends is awesome,” said Block in a recent phone interview.
Leaving USN, Nashville, and his home for an entirely new environment was as challenging, but Block found his spot in the WashU community quickly. He cites his baseball teammates as his “immediate network,” which helped ease his transition further.
Block has one piece of advice specifically for that transition.
“I would encourage people to really try to explore clubs and activities on campus from day one,” Block suggested.
Once again, Block highlights the importance of immediate community and its helpfulness in the transition to college.
In that same vein, Block helped found a chapter of the Hidden Opponent on the WashU campus. The organization’s mission is to educate student-athletes on the mental health resources available to them through all sorts of on-campus events. Block is passionate about helping student-athletes “perform at their best on and off the field.”
“It’s been really exciting to do things like awareness games and chapter meetings and fun activities with our group, and I’m really looking forward to bringing more of that to not only my team, my baseball team, but the broader athletic community,” he added.
Being a member of WashU’s baseball team, the mission is personal for him. Block has now spent two years with the team, during which he has seen continual growth in both his own and his team’s performance.
His freshman year proved to be tumultuous.
“My first year, we did not make the postseason. It was really hard, and my performance was not where I wanted to be. Not even close. So I had to go back to the drawing board [and] really work on developing physically in the weight room and getting stronger, as well as moving more efficiently with my mechanics,” he said.
Block adds that he and the team both saw significant improvement in his sophomore year, but he still wants to push himself further.
“It’s a constant process. I’m still…developing, still not there yet, hoping to really take it to the next level. This season, last year, we made a regional, which means we were one of the top 64 teams and made the [NCAA] tournament, but ended up losing to the eventual national champions [the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater],” Block said.
Block’s last baseball season at USN was one of the school’s most successful in recent memory, with the Tigers advancing to the state quarterfinal before falling to the Christian Academy of Knoxville. He hopes to taste success again this year.
“This year, we want to make a run further and try to win the whole thing. Usually, last year, I would be a late-inning reliever, come out of the bullpen late in the game and help shut the door and go into high-pressure situations…[I] want to do more of that, and want to be a real difference-maker this season on the mound,” Block adds.
Block’s role comes with a lot of pressure, but once again, he finds comfort in the team’s community.
“I think I’m lucky because I live in an apartment building with 11 of our team [members], over three different apartment rooms,” Block said, “It has been cool to be surrounded by a great group of guys.”
Outside of his athletic pursuits, Block is pursuing a joint degree in business and computer science and starting to hone in on his “professional niche.” Block says he wants to help businesses prepare for the future by using different “cloud engineering infrastructures.”
Still, though, Block treasures the memories and experiences he had at USN.
“I just think the friendships I made are very much still alive, and I get to connect with people from high school regularly, so I’ve been really grateful for that,” Block added.
Among his WashU teammates is fellow USN baseball alumnus Townsend Stevenson ‘23. Like Block, Stevenson also has a younger sibling in the class of 2026.
For seniors who might be worried about the transition out of USN, like he was, Block offers a message of hope for the future.
“I’d say you have a lot of things to be hopeful about…You should be really looking forward to the opportunity to develop yourself in terms of things you can study, things you can engage with extracurricularly, and the people you can meet, most importantly….wherever you go to school, it’s going to work out…it’s also important to be human and connect with people around you, because ultimately, that’s what’s going to define a good college experience. I think that you’re at a very valuable point in your life for that,” he adds.
Block offers one more comforting message to this year’s senior class, saying that they are more ready for the transition to college than they know.
“I think the lesson that y’all…should take away is that you will be prepared for the academics of college. And you know, you guys are extremely talented and motivated. I think the USN curriculum prepares you extremely well…trust you’re in a good spot…but…leave yourself time to do things outside of class as well,” he remarked.
It is a message of hope that this year’s seniors can take to heart; they are ready and well-prepared to make that jump to college.
