Arwen Borowiak, senior foilist from Tauberbischofsheim, Germany, joined the German National Team in 2017 when he was just 15 years old.
When competing at the 2018 Summer Nationals in San Francisco, Calif., one of the coaches in attendance asked if he had ever imagined himself studying and fencing in the United States. "I was basically saying yes to everything, partly because my English was still pretty bad, but I said 'sure, why not?" Borowiak responded.
The following year, Borowiak placed 8th in the under 20 category at the 2019 Summer Nationals and July Challenge being hosted at Ohio State. Following his performance, and after getting swarmed by coaches asking if he wanted to fence in college, he returned to Germany, discussed his options with his family, and found an agency that connects German athletes with U.S. colleges and universities in order to further their athletic careers: Scholarbook. After working with the company for about a month or two, Borowiak received fencing scholarship offers from a numerous schools, including Penn State.
After beating former Nittany Lion Shane Iverson 5-0 in front of the Penn State fencing coaching staff, Borowiak caught their eye. Turns out, Borowiak's home coach had a connection to Penn State's interim head coach Adam Kaszubowski. Communication was fluid and straightforward between Penn State's staff and the Borowiak family, partly because Kaszubowski and Arwen's mother are both from Poland. Nevertheless, Borowiak signed his national letter of intent to attend Penn State in November of 2019, ultimately foregoing his opportunity to join the German military.
Unbeknownst to Borowiak, accepting his scholarship offer to Penn State also meant he would get kicked off of the German National Team.
He only found this out after traveling home to Germany from the U.S. for three separate domestic competitions, just for his coach to say they could no longer take him to any team events, European or World Championships.
Borowiak considers this to be the toughest thing he has had to overcome in his fencing career.
However, he has also had some unbelievable successes here at Penn State since beginning his collegiate fencing career in 2020. During his freshman season, Borowiak amassed a 16-11 record and qualified for the NCAA Championship where he won 15 of 22 bouts to earn All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in foil. He rolled to a 29-9 overall record as a sophomore before posting a top three finish at regionals and earning his second All-America honor by placing 7th at NCAAs. He recorded a 43-23 overall record in his junior campaign, placed second at regionals and eighths at the NCAA Championships to become a three-time All-American.
Aside from fencing, Borowiak has also found a new passion: Supply Chain and Information Systems. He has become significantly inspired and interested in his chosen major and praises the guidance he has received from his favorite professor, Dr. Christopher Solo. Borowiak was even chosen as a teaching assistant for Supply Chain Management 301 (SCM301).
Although his future with the German National Team has been put on pause, Borowiak is pursuing greatness at Penn State and living life to the fullest in the United States.
