Alumni Profile: David Cywinski

Twenty-five years ago—the summer before his senior year at Buffalo State—David Cywinski, ’87 (pictured far right), set out with two lifelong friends, Dan Alexander and Tony Glosek, on an ambitious 8,141-mile bicycle ride around the country to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club in Buffalo’s Babcock neighborhood.

“We grew up at that club,” Cywinski said. “When we weren’t at practice for a sports team, we were at the club. It was an extremely important place for us and we wanted to give something back.”

Unfortunately, more than halfway through the charity ride, the unthinkable happened. While cycling in Seguin, Texas, Cywinski and Glosek were hit from behind by a pick-up truck, whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. Glosek broke his back, both legs, and jaw; Cywinski suffered serious nerve damage in his legs. Still ailing, Cywinski returned to Buffalo State in the fall and fulfilled his term as president of the United Students Government.

Over the years, Cywinski and Glosek recovered from their injuries. Along with Alexander, they also co-founded their own medical practice, Finger Lakes Bone & Joint Center in Geneva, New York.

“We always talked about eventually finishing the ride and we finally decided that the time was right—25 years after our first trip,” said Cywinski, who completed the final 2,504 miles from Texas to New York with his two friends this August, averaging 111-miles of cycling per day.

With the help of corporate sponsors, ample media coverage along the route, and social networking, the trio raised $400,000 this time around. That impressive sum is being used as the foundation for a $2.5 million capital campaign to build a new Seneca Babcock Community Center.