Of the many high schoolers that attend Central Kitsap High School, senior Alex Lowery is one that stands out without really intending to. He might not be known to every student but those students that do and the staff has gotten to know him well due to his classes and him always being in the office and running out notes to various classes. Although, he’s more than just a student.

Aside from being just a student or helper in the office, Lowery is also a bowler and a volunteer. On wednesdays, Lowery goes to American Legion to assist the elderly with bingo. He also helps calling back numbers, doing payouts, running the till, cooking, more. Alongside his volunteer work, Lowery also bowls in and out of school. He has been bowling for the school for the last three years and this year that’s wrapping up will be his fourth and last year bowling. Though, just cause high school is over for him, it’s unlikely that he’ll stop. Lowery has been bowling off and on for about 10 years and he chose bowling because he came from a big bowling family. As with his progress and development in bowling, his identity has also been progressing and developing these past few years.

Over these last few years of high school, Lowery has acquainted a number of close friends and a partner this past year. During that time a couple of years ago, Lowery officially come out as transgender, specifically Female To Male transgender. Due to a major change like that, there are bound to be positive and negative moments. Lowery explains that “at the beginning was VERY hard, and don’t get me wrong, it STILL is. But now everybody knows and my (prefered) name is now on everything and that helps a lot and it isn’t something that “outs” me or leads to an awkward conversation with a staff member.” While also going through his changes, he has had friends also help and be there for him.

Of the many friends, senior Shea Kuligowski has been with Lowery through a bulk of his transition. Kuligowski explains that “his transition of gender has legit been a wild roller coaster ride. I’ve been there when he thought he wasn’t going to make it and almost didn’t and I’ve been there when he found his reason to live and life started to look good for him,” and as the years progress and the more people get to know him, there are all kinds of ways to describe him.

He may believed that he’s just described as reliable, a smart aleck, and an introvert until they’re comfortable, but on the contrary, there is so much more. Mikki Matson, a senior that attends North Thurston, describes him as being kind hearted, protective, handsome, and a very beautiful soul. Matson also describes their relationship as very loving, trusting, and adventurous.

Kuligowski describes Lowery as “a really good friend. He’s always there if you need him and he can be relied on for pretty much everything. He’s funny most of the time and can also be really dumb but that’s okay. He’s strong even when he thinks he’s weak.” With all the support, Lowery has made many moments with his friends and partner.

Due to Matson attending North Thurston, her and Lowery’s relationship is considered a long distance relationship. She explains that “we get into petty fights here and there and being a long distance relationship, communication sometimes falls through. Although, we always learn from it!” Matson also adds that “there are countless good moments but my favorites are signing “I love you” or “you’re stupid” from across the bowling alley to each other at matches and recently at districts. I also love going on fun adventures with him, this last summer we went to Leavenworth!” He doesn’t just have fun with his partner, he also has fun with his friends.

Within this last recent year, Kuligowski and Lowery have been hanging out more than when they first knew each other, though in the beginning, everything wasn’t the greatest. Kuligowski says that “Alex has tried to push me and all the people who love him away once or twice. That’s one of the worst moments I’ve had with him. We’re pretty close and it hurts when someone like that pushes you away. I think our good moments outnumber the bad ones. Alex and I have been on quite a few adventures. We’ve explored Walmart at ungodly hours of the night and we’ve been on quite a few car trips where we talk about anything and everything. We’ve encountered a lot of strange people along the way. Life is always an adventure with him.” Due to Lowery’s presents, he has influenced those around him for the better because of how he is as a whole.

As the ones that love him support and grow with him, he has influenced their lives for the better. Matson happily expresses that “he influences me everyday to be a better person, partner, and ally for the transgender community. Someone like him just makes you want be better. I think that’s what love does.” She also adds that “he also influenced me to be brave and come out completely in the spring! As of March 2018, I’ve been completely out to everyone in my life and I couldn’t have done it without him.” Although it may be obvious that he would influence his partner, he has also greatly influenced his friends.

Kuligowski also expresses that she “honestly say that I do not know where I would be without Alex. I can say that I probably wouldn’t be the person I am today without him. I probably wouldn’t have some of my close friends I have now and high school would have been much more boring and not a fun time for me. That being said, I probably would have a few more years on my life because he’s given me more heart attacks than I can count. But I’ll keep him anyway.”

As his last year at Central Kitsap wraps up, Lowery still has a whole life ahead of him. He says that after high school, he plans to move to Olympia and go to SPSCC (South Puget Sound Community College) with his partner. In five years, he hopes to be done with his surgery and having a small wedding or already be married to his partner.