UMASS Men's Soccer Alumni Mentoring Night
April 28, 2023
01 02 03 04-07 A Letter From Shawn Green '02
of Contents Alumni Biographies Alumni Greeting and Perspective Alumni Perspectives
Table
Welcome to Alumni Mentoring Night
Dear Fellow Minutemen,
On behalf of our assembled alumni mentors, thank you all very much for sharing your time and attention with us tonight, and for allowing us to share our perspective with you.
We are all so proud to support you on the field, and we are truly honored to be with you here to hopefully help each and every one of you along in your path to personal success. It is our hope that by passing along the lessons learned throughout our own respective journeys, you will find a more positive way forward on your road ahead.
Not too long ago, each of us sat where you are sitting today. Many of us had the same hopes and dreams that you have, and most of us had the same questions that you do. This is our chance to share something with you that we wish someone had shared with us while we were at UMass, in hopes that our advice and perspective makes a positive difference in your lives.
Similar to the game of soccer, our event will last for approximately 90 minutes...and also similar to the game of soccer, it’s not just about passing those ninety minutes - it’s about what happens in those ninety minutes, and what we are all willing to contribute that makes each minute count. Together, we all have a role to play in making this event a success, so let’s all make a collective commitment to participate fully, and to make the most of this opportunity.
Here’s looking forward to a positive, productive and impactful evening, and to a bright future for us all.
Many thanks, and as always...GO UMASS!
Shawn Green ‘02
Alumni Biographies
David Himmelberger, Esq.
Year of Graduation: 1977
Major: Political Economy
Additional Education: J.D. Boston College '82
Current Title(s): Attorney at The Law Office of David J. Himmelberger
Current Industry: Law, specializing in land use and real estate
Thomas Draudt
Year of Graduation: 1981
Major: English/Communication Studies
Minor: Sociology
Additional Education: Internship at MIT's Educational Video Resources
Current Title (s): Owner/Television Producer/Director/Filmmaker/Cameraman/ Actual Size Productions
Current Industry: Film
Scott Elliot
Year of Graduation: 1985
Major: Finance
Additional Education: MSM in Operations Management from WPI
Current Title: VP - Controller at Heartland Water Technology, Inc.
Current Industry: Water Treatment Technology/Leachgate Management Services
Matthew Christy
Year of Graduation: 2001
Major: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Current Title: Senior Vice President
Asset Resilience and Development, AEW Capital Management
Current Industry: Real Estate Investment Management
Ted Priestly (Moderator)
Year of Graduation: 1994
Major: Political Science
Additional Education: Various Master's level classes, NSCAA coaching courses
Current Title: Founder/CEO, Fundraise4U.net
Current Industry: Fundraising
Meet our Alumni Mentors
David Himmelberger '77
Scott Elliott '85
Thomas Draudt '81
Matt Christy '01
Questions for the Alumni...
What do you wish you had known as a firstyear student at UMass?
DH: That hedonism is not a great model for success, and that college is supposed to be more than just one big party
SE: This sounds obvious but I wish I had known how strong the correlation was between showing up, doing the work, and having success. It was very tempting and scarily easy to decide to miss a class or an assignment. In High School, I never missed class but it almost seemed predetermined what each student would get for a grade. Once I got to UMASS, I realized the Professors were not interested in keeping students in their buckets but wanted to show them that they could do it and that they could learn it. I remember thinking “Wow these professors just give you the test answers”, or is that what teaching was?
BOQ: Don’t assume that you are important just because you are a D1 athlete. Your passion and skill to get you to this point is commendable and outstanding; however my advice would be to not let athletics alone define you. Use the diversity in this great University to get to know new people that can enlighten your life. Learn how to connect with people outside of athletics, ask them about their life and experiences, and you will be amazed at how your confidence and interpersonal skills will help you enrich your life!
TD: I transferred, so I was a junior when I came to UMass.DH: I can’t answer this, as it, as a lawyer might say, presumes a fact not in evidence. Had I known then what I now know, my answer would be, to keep a balance between academic work and athletics, rather than letting athletics dwarf and subsume the academics I suppose that my best strategy was to recognize after sophomore year that things weren’t working out on the trajectory I’d hoped for, so I took a year off, traveling across the country with another friend who doing the same. It was during that year that I ended up reading the books that I had been assigned in my first two years, and found my interests in academic topics rekindled, leading to a great final two years
Questions for the Alumni...
What strategies helped you to succeed as a student-athlete?
TD: Try to balance the school work with soccer practice and game time Know that at this moment the soccer limelight may fade and that you must have a solid foundation from your education and field of choice (major) that will carry you past soccer.
SE: I wouldn’t call it a strategy but as difficult as it sometimes was, I had the most academic success during the soccer season, when my schedule was very rigid It’s easier to find the time to do an hour’s worth of work when you have an hour than when you have half a day I would advise to not be afraid to work and study with others but to avoid working with those who have less urgency to get the work done
Questions for the Alumni...
DH: I’d have taken a fifth year of school, as the first two years were of questionable value academically, and only after taking a year off from college, and returning did I find my love for academics. Consequently, I have always felt as if I really only had two years of college academics.
TD: It wasn't until years after college did I understand how nutrition is vital to success- on the field and off.
SE: I wish that I had engaged more with my professors and that I came home with a fat address book with my friend’s phone numbers. I thought that I cherished my playing days but after graduating, I had reoccurring dreams for more than a decade that I was on campus, and through some bizarre series of events, I was summoned to the field to use my last year of eligibility. I was always in Jeans, a flannel shirt, and work boots and ran in slow motion. The lesson is to take it in and give it your all and realize that playing competitive soccer is such a privilege and a blast and that it will end and maybe sooner than you planned and that it will get harder to replicate these experiences later in life.
If you could go back and change anything, what would you change?
DH: That forty years is a long time, and it is marathon, not a sprint. Pacing, and always following one’s passions provide better opportunities for long term success, and that maintaining one’s health and fitness is the best investment one can make for long term happiness. And on a more mundane topic, never give in to credit card offers and the belief that so long as I can make my minimum monthly payment, I’m fine and can accumulate credit card debt, as, after all, I’ll always make more money next year It is so easy to quickly run up $50,000 or more in credit card debt, which results in an effective ongoing interest surcharge on everything that one purchases, with the net effect being that every thing you charge has a 1018% markup due to the credit card interest.
Questions for the Alumni...
What advice would you give to our graduating seniors as they embark on the next steps of life?
TD: Use your teamwork and leadership skills that you gained from a rigorous college soccer program into your careers. Know that most people you will encounter did not have the awesome opportunity that you had playing high-level sports in college and therefore you own a life experience that is very special
SE: My father used to tell me “Do the right thing” I thought that was obvious advice, but I didn’t find it helpful and questioned how that jived with his other advice of “do what I say not what I do”. Now I work for a CEO that I admire, and he said to me. “Well, we can never go wrong by doing the right thing”. I thought that was brilliant and I recorded it in my database of quotes for posterity. The following is other advice passed on to me that I try to keep in mind since it is easy to do the exact opposite. Show up. Listen. Don’t talk about people behind their backs If you get invited to dinner go. If you’re not doing something to help you should be.
Notes
Notes
Thank You to our Mentors
We cannot thank you enough for your willingness to share your time, perspective and advice with us here tonight. We are humbled by your selflessness and inspired by your example, and we look forward to hopefully staying connected with you, and perhaps following your lead by participating in this event someday as mentors. For now, we thank you and look forward to honoring the legacy that you have all built.
Go
UMass.
Always!
