Flame on the Hot Seat: Oliver Lewis-Perkins
Photos courtesy of Lee Athletic Communications
This week’s Flame on the Hot Seat is Oliver Lewis-Perkins. A freshman business administration major from London, England, Perkins has played golf his entire life and moved to the U.S. to compete for championships at the NCAA level.
Perkins has only been on Lee’s campus for six weeks due to travel restrictions but has already shown strong results on the golf course. Perkins placed seventh at the Camden Collegiate Invitational on October 6, helping the Flames to a second-place finish behind South Carolina-Aiken.
How did you get into playing golf?
“When I was about three, my dad took me to the local club because he played. It was just a hobby that me and my dad would do after school for a bit of fun. I did that until I was about 15 or 16 and then I started to get quite good and began competing at the regional and national levels.”
What brought you to Lee?
“I didn’t know I was going to come to the U.S. until much later than usual. I had a few offers, but when I visited Lee and saw the facilities and how the team was, I knew it would be a good fit.”
What is your favorite thing about America?
“It’s not as different as people think. Everything is just a bit bigger. The roads are a lot wider, the buildings are bigger and people are louder, but I really like Chick-Fil-A. That’s probably my favorite thing about America so far.”
What are you most excited about during college?
“In terms of sport, I would like to challenge or win a national championship. I think we’ve got the team, and we haven’t had bad results so far. I just need to stay focused and keep up with my school work and practice.”
How was the transition from school in England to the U.S.?
“I didn’t understand a lot of stuff in the first week. How it works in England is, in year eleven we have exams. Then, you either go to a trade school or a college and you study three subjects. It’s a bit more specialized. So, coming here it’s a bit like going back to normal school where you are learning a lot of subjects at once.”
What is the craziest thing you have seen while playing golf?
“I was walking down the fairway one day and there were two people having a fight on the course. I don’t know what it was over, but they were throwing golf equipment at each other and then they just started having an all-out brawl in the middle of the golf course.”
What is the biggest American culture shock for you?
“Everyone is much more expressive about politics. People tend to keep things like that to themselves in the U.K.”
What do you miss most about home?
“I guess family. I miss them, and definitely the food. Like biscuits here aren’t the same as they are back home, and some American breakfast food just isn’t the same as it is at home.”
If you could choose one song to play every time you walk into a room for the rest of your life, what song would you choose and why?
“Probably ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen. I like a bit of Queen. It’s a good pump-up song.”
You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it, what do you do with the elephant?
“Riding it around town like a horse. I don’t have a car here, so I would ride the elephant.”
