HARLINGEN — The image of a librarian usually conjures up images of an elderly lady wearing think glasses with her graying hair tied up in an impossibly tight bun.
But Stephanie Galvan, the head of the Information Literary Center at Cano Freshman Academy, not only breaks that stereotypical mold, she shatters it.
Galvan, who was a cheerleader at San Benito High School, has developed a different set of skills throughout the years that separates her from the rest.
Believe it or not, the young woman likes to lift weights in her spare time and participates in weightlifting competitions when she’s not running things at Cano’s ILC.
Galvan has been lifting for the past three years, but wasn’t always into the scene.
“It wasn’t until I met my fiancé at the gym and he helped me become more familiar with weight training,” she said “The thing I love about weight training is that it doesn’t matter how you look, rather it’s about how much can you lift.”
Galvan not only met her fiancé through weight training, but also came across an inspirational figure as well.
“It was the worst meet of my life and I was walking to go get lunch when I noticed someone waving at me,” she said “Little did I know that it was my idol Jilly Jaworske (Olympic weightlifter) and I immediately ran over to go talk to her.”
It didn’t take long for Galvan to team up with Jaworske and has been a part of her team ever since they met last March.
Training with Jaworske has served Galvan well. Within the past year her experience has been nothing short of spectacular.
“Having someone that’s always on your side, no matter what, has been amazing,” she said “I love her programming. It’s easy to follow and I don’t question what she has in store for me.”
With her weight training, Galvan hopes to be a role model to her students and inspire them to dream big.
“I want to help them get out of their comfort zone and get them to realize that they’re capable of so much more,” she said. “I hope when they see me doing what I do, it influences them to take charge and change the world.”
