“As a student athlete, student comes first,” Jack Granack — pitcher in the baseball team, leader in all-time starts in the program and 5th year student athlete — said.
Balancing school and other responsibilities is a challenge for any student, but it can be an even bigger one for student athletes, especially for those that have been here for longer. This, however, is not the case for some of the main graduate student athletes across the Hilltopper athletic programs.
“They (professors) definitely understand that we are student athletes — with emphasis on the “student” — so they take academics to a high standard for us and they expect us to meet those standards,” Austin Essex, also a pitcher in the baseball team and 5th year student pursuing his Masters in Business Administration (MBA), said.
Just like Essex and Granack, many other student athletes have stayed at St. Edward’s for extra years. For those that are close to graduating, the extra year was given to them due to COVID-19 in 2020. For some, staying at the hilltop was an easy decision, even with the turmoil from the pandemic.
“They awarded us another extra year of eligibility, which is what ultimately led me to be able to play this year and also start pursuing my MBA,” Granack said. “That’s why I’m so grateful for baseball, to give me the opportunity to continue my education, continue learning those skills at such a great university such as St. Edward’s.”
Also during the pandemic, a few of the athletic programs got cut, including the men’s soccer team, making the journey on the hilltop more difficult to a few students, forcing them to change their plans.
Goalkeeper and MBA student Kellen Gullion and Data Analytics graduate student and outside back Todd Fuller were some of those people. After playing his freshman season, Gullion had to transfer. Fuller was never able to get to the hilltop, leading him to pursue his bachelor’s degree elsewhere. But when the soccer program was reinstated last fall and with their extra years of eligibility, everything fell into place.
“It (St Edward’s) felt like a place where I could fit in, where I could play and get a good education,” Fuller said. “It felt like a perfect match right away.”
Gullion had always known that he would come to St. Edward’s, so the prospect of coming back was the opportunity he had been looking for — not only due to the chance of playing soccer for longer, but also to continue getting high quality education.
“Out of all the schools I’ve been to, I would say St. Ed’s has been the hardest school for me,” Gullion said. “The professors are here to make sure that you’re successful, and I really appreciate that. I definitely think that private schools have that aspect, but St. Edward’s especially.”
These graduate students have mastered balancing the major aspects of their lives — athletics and academics — and have taken every opportunity to their advantage.
“There’s a lot of resources that you can go to if you fall behind,” Bennett Mohn, basketball player in his 6th year as a student and 5th year in collegiate courts, said. “Professors are good at working with you and knowing how hard it is, they want to help.”
Discipline, time management and leadership, as well the memories created with teammates, coaching staff and faculty will be the main things that they take with them beyond their time as Hilltoppers — along with the education they have received.
“Baseball wise, I never wanted to leave, I wanted to go somewhere and stay,” Essex said. “School wise, you get a really good education here, so why should I leave? I had connections with professors, I enjoyed the department I was in, and I heard great things about the MBA program. I think it was a great decision.”
