32 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST able to see problems and solve them and create solutions that help as many people as I can. You’re a pretty big chess player. How did you get started with that? I started playing when I was in kindergarten, I believe around four years old. I started playing because I had a best friend—he went to school with me, was my next-door neighbor and is probably still my best friend to this day. His parents had put him in chess and my dad said, ‘Why are they doing that? You should do it too.’ But very quickly, I got good and I started traveling the U.S., playing in competitive tournaments for majors from age five to 10 or 11. And then I took a little bit of a break and “retired” in middle school. When COVID hit, I started teaching chess lessons and started a nonprofit chess foundation called Motts Gambit, and that aligns with teaching cognitive skills to kids through chess. I run programs at Fountain Hill Elementary School, and I ran a program at Trumbauersville Elementary School. Basically everything I can do to get chess in the hands of as many people as possible. Two summers ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel overseas to Europe and play competitively in eight different countries. That was awesome—a great experience. You were ranked nationally at a young age. I was a top 100-rated nine-yearold in the country. I was pretty good at that age, pre-retirement. I’d say I’m still pretty good, but that was probably the best I was compared to the rest of the world at that time because you really have to commit your whole life to it. Was there a reason you took a break? I’m doing track in college, but I was a big basketball player in high school and middle school, While Skyler Mott ’25 has found success on the track, he’s also making his mark with his entrepreneurial pursuits. He’s involved in numerous projects, including Motts Gambit, a nonprofit chess foundation, and Mountain Movers Storage & Co., a storage company specifically designed for college students. He’s also CEO of Markit Athletics, a company that aims to improve track and field from the athlete and viewer perspectives through innovative products that help represent athletes’ identities. Major: Business management and cognitive science And a concentration in AI (artificial intelligence)?: Within cognitive science there are different specializations. So my general specialization is within AI. What’s your dream job? I don’t think it’s necessarily a title, it’s the world of being a serial entrepreneur. So, being STUDENT-ATHLETE PROFILE An Entrepreneurial Spirit That Clears the Bar A high jumper on the men’s track team, Skyler Mott ’25 is involved in numerous entrepreneurial ventures ranging from a chess nonprofit to a storage company. STEPHANIE VETO
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