Assumption Men's Soccer Alumni Mentoring Night April 8, 2022
Table of Contents
01
A Letter From Joao Barata '00
02
Alumni Biographies
03
Alumni Greeting and Perspectives
04-07
Alumni Perspectives
Welcome to Alumni Mentoring Night Dear Assumption Greyhounds, Thank you for joining us tonight! We, your alumni mentors, are thrilled to have the opportunity to share our stories and share our perspective with you. We are all so proud to support you on and off the field. I know the mentor group is thrilled to be with you and hopefully will help each and every one of you along on your journey to success. It is our hope that in sharing our life-lessons we can effect your lives in a positive and helpful manner. Not too long ago, we walked in the March for Christian Athletes, prayed in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, competed on the fields, survived and thrived in the classrooms. Each of us were in your shoes and had the opportunity to sit where you are sitting today, however, we may not have had this terrific opportunity to hear from alumni mentors. I can confidently say that most our hopes and dreams that you have, and we certainly had similar questions that you do. We all welcome this opportunity to share something with you about life, careers and the REAL world that we wish someone had shared with us while we were at Assumption, in hopes that our advice makes a positive difference in your lives. Each and every day you step out on the pitch to prepare for the next fitness test, the next training session, the next match or the next championship; all this is a step towards life. The skills and characteristics that you develop here at Assumption will serve you well on your journey. Preparation is the key to life. Being prepared to face adversity, being prepared to succeed and being prepared for change are just a few of the twists and turns life will throw your way. You have the chance to actively participate and contribute to your growth as a player and person. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and commit to making this a key moment in your preparation. Here’s looking forward to an exciting, enjoyable and impactful event. Wishing you all, mentors, guests and players, a brilliant future ahead! Thank you for your attention and as always….GO HOUNDS!!! Joao (John) Barata ’00
Alumni Biographies Bill Hodge Year of Graduation: 1992 Major: Business Management Current Title: National Account Manager Current Industry: Transportation and Logistics
Josh Boyle Year of Graduation: 2003 Major: Business Management Current Title: Director of Partnerships Current Industry: Advertising, marketing, and media
Ryan Murphy Year of Graduation: 2003, 2010 Major: Marketing Major, Communications Minor Current Title: Major Gifts Officer at Holy Cross University, Business development for Fortune 500 Current Industry: Fundraising, and Entrepreneur
Nick Bequary Year of Graduation: 1998 Major: Communications Current Title: Venture Partner/COO Current Industry: Venture Capital, Technology
Meet our Alumni Mentors Ryan Murphy '03,'10
Nick Bequary '98
Josh Boyle '03
Bill Hodge '92
Questions for the Alumni... What do you wish you had known as a Freshman or first-year? BH: How to be more organized academically. Time for studies is of the essence especially when playing a collegiate level sport. NB: Limiting and managing distractions is going to be more difficult than people tell you.. here you are walking into a new environment with all these new people and things and you want to do it all… the truth is, being a student athlete is hard work. Not just because of the coursework load and training and games and travel, but, because there is a very large social aspect of being at college… there’s hanging out in the dorms, there’s going to parties and bars, there’s all this stuff coming at you from every direction and you need to find ways to manage it.. I’m not going to tell you how to manage it, that depends on each of you, but , you have to figure out your priorities..
RM: Mindfulness- I had no idea how quickly that 4 years would go by. As you get older there is so much stress…enjoy these worry-free moments. Cherish bus rides to Lemoyne, Dinners with your teammates, hard workouts together, candlelight prayer, are all special times that you will blink and will be gone before you know it. JB: College doesn't prepare you for real life. The experience and independence, to me, was the biggest and most valuable learning experience, which is definitely very important. But the rest, what you're really paying for (the coursework + degree), it gives you something you likely need to get a job, but it doesn't (for most people) help you understand what that job could be or how to get it. So, I wish I had known going in that I would need to learn, or seek out, the practical, valuable life skills needed to succeed.
Questions for the Alumni... What strategies helped you to succeed as a student-athlete? BH: The adjustment to college was much easier. We had a two week camp prior to students arriving which allowed me to meet my teammates and get acclimated. Meeting upper class-men was a big help prior to the start of the school-year and soccer season.
NB: 1. having a strong support system of family, friends, teammates, coaches, and faculty. Finding a way to work with each of these can be tricky but really lean on each of these..each brings a different aspect into helping you be happy and successful. 2. Love of the game.. knowing, if I didn't perform academically, that it could be taken away. I was reminded of this a few times when I wasn't in the best academic standing and had to pick up the slack which is hard to do. It’s very sobering being faced with being academic ineligibility. And then trying to dig yourself out of a hole.. it’s not a position I recommend being in. So, love the game, it will love you back.
RM: I have always been a hard worker and extremely focused & disciplined. The ability to prioritize what is truly important, and passion to succeed in my endeavors. My personality is a “glass ½ full, no dead ends” approach and I took that intensity to the field and the classroom. Don’t procrastinate the school work, and have integrity in everything you do. JB: Just simply getting done and doing what needed to be done. Hit the GPA required. Work your ass off to pass the fitness test. Get to practice on time, etc. Do the right things and the rest falls into place. Don't create obstacles for yourself or you could be in danger.
Questions for the Alumni... If you could go back and change anything, what would you change? BH: I would have concentrated more in the classroom and taken my academic classes more seriously. RM: Stay away from toxic people, negative energy, bad environments. I made some poor choices that led to valuable life lessons my junior year. The decisions we make can have lasting effects. Foolish behavior in 2002 would cost me a dream job. Several years after graduating I had an offer of employment as a Special Agent w/ the FBI that was terminated at the final stage due to my choices 10 years earlier. Forgive your younger self, believe in your current self, and create your future self! Look yourself in the mirror, be authentic, be honorable, and don’t get caught up in the BS if it doesn’t feel right. My senior year I had a bad attitude. My favorite coach left for a new job, and I did not respect the new coach. We should have had a phenomenal team that year, instead, we failed. As a captain that year, I could have taken a much different approach than I did.
JB: On the field: Put more time in after practice and in the gym. Didn't fulfill my potential on the field. Can't get that time back. Off the field: More focus on potential career paths. Be that getting internships (though it wasn't as much of a thing back then as it is now) or talking with more people (events like this) to not only understand what it takes or how to navigate, but also what's available. There's so many opportunities across different industries that you're just not aware of when you're 19, 20 years old. While it would make sense, I can not say I'd go to a different school more suited to my career aspirations (ex: Babson for their entrepreneurship program) because the friends I made at Assumption are lifers. 20 years later, 25 of them will be at my wedding next month. NB: Based on where I am in my life having a wonderful family, friends, and career, I wouldn’t change a single thing. I believe that everything happens for a reason. But, Ted’s making me answer the question….. so, the thing I would change is that I would have thought more about my future, I would have looked out to my junior and senior year and set on the field and off the field goals for myself. I'm saying this all in hindsight, which is easy to do. But, you should always have some level of short term and long term goals.. these don’t have to be big grandiose goals but they can be, they can be simple goals…
Questions for the Alumni... JB: 1. Don't NOT take a job because you think it has nothing to do with what you want to do down the road. Get experience - real world job experience. You'll start building a network, new opportunities will open up, etc.. You may even surprise yourself and enjoy the job. 2. Don't ever think a job is beneath you, especially early in your career. And early in your career, make an impact any way possible, always add value, be reliable. Just like on the field, the best ability is availability. 3. Treat everyone with respect. Obviously because you should and it creates good habit and people will respect you back, but also, you never know who you're talking to. 4. If you have the chance (and/or the means/ability) to work at an early stage startup early on in your career, do it. You'll learn more about business and yourself in two years than you would 5 in a corporate cookie-cutter setting. NB: Now this sounds contradictory to the answer I just gave, but, leave everything you have on the field and cherish every moment, love the pre-season training sessions -which is what I miss the most, love the bus rides, which tend to suck, love the games, love the winning and get pissed when you lose, love it all. You only get one chance to play college soccer.. don't think about the past or the future, think about the present, live in the present. You have the rest of your lives to build a successful career, start a family, and play men’s league soccer…
What advice would you give to our graduating seniors as they embark on the next steps of their lives? BH: Be patient and open to all areas of employment. Don’t pigeon hole yourself into thinking you will only do one thing for 40 years. Be willing to adapt to and or change fields. Find something you enjoy doing. I would say find something you are passionate about, but I think it is more important to find a job, company or area of expertise that you enjoy. Remember the average person has 6 jobs before they end up in what is ultimately their career. Be patient, the degree is what matters. Your field of study while in school does not have to be the field you choose to work in. Employers look for degrees more than they look for specific types of degrees. Unless, of course, you are in the medical field. RM: If you are unsure what the hell you want to do, I suggest making two columns…things you enjoy doing, and things you are really good at. See where there is crossover. It took me 15 years to find my sweet spot, and get my work/life harmony. I’m busy as ever, but it’s a good fulfilling busy. The gifts God has given you, give back as a gift…Example of how I arrived at my current career.
Notes
Notes
Thank You to our Mentors