Undergraduate Blog / Defining Your Babson

Life After Baseball

Baseball has been a staple in my life since I first started playing tee ball as a clumsy two-year-old. It became a major part of my identity and something that I loved to do. Baseball taught me how to work hard, how to accept and learn from failure, how to perform under pressure and how to be a good teammate. Until I went through the college process, I couldn’t imagine my life without baseball. When deciding on what school I wanted to spend the next four years of my life at though, I chose to prioritize attending a school with a good business program. I did not want to pick a school solely because I wanted to play baseball there. I wanted to find a school that I would be happy at with or without baseball, and if I could play baseball it was an added bonus. I was very fortunate to discover Babson and receive an offer from the baseball coach to play on the team here.

At Babson, I was a member of the varsity baseball team my first two years. Over those two years I began to pursue and develop interests that I had previously neglected or not realized I had. My life became filled with a more diverse compilation of passions, hobbies and extra-curricular activities. While I still loved baseball, it was taking up most of my free time when we were in season (the spring) and making it extremely difficult to fully pursue my other interests.

An interest I was able to pursue while on the baseball team was giving tours. It only took up one or two hours a week, making it easy to schedule with baseball. I was involved with admissions in high school and I was happy to be able to continue helping prospective students here at Babson. Towards the end of my sophomore year, I applied for, and was offered a job as an admission fellow for Babson. It requires a minimum of ten hours a week of work, which would be almost impossible for me to fulfill while in season with baseball. I originally intended to work and play baseball, but after discussing it with my friends and family over the summer, I decided it was time for me to end my baseball career. It was one of the most difficult decisions I ever made in my life, and I was very unsure what my life would be like without the sport I grew up playing.

When I got to campus this past fall (my Junior year) I was nervous, but also excited to experience Babson through a new perspective. Things went much better than I expected. I worked 10-15 hours a week, which essentially replaced and exceeded the amount of time I would have spent on baseball related activities in the fall (off season). I was grateful for work, because I was worried that without baseball I would have too much free time. I discovered that work gave me something productive and rewarding to do outside the classroom, while also allowing me plenty of free time to get my work done and hang out with my friends. I’ve also made many new friends this year through trying new experiences that I previously wouldn’t have had time for.

Now that the spring semester is in full swing, many of my friends are in season and extremely busy with baseball and school. They practice and play 20+ hours a week, allowing them little free time. I was worried there would be a lot of time when I didn’t have any friends around in the spring, but this has not been the case. I’m usually busy with work or class until around the time they’re finished practice, so I end up being free at similar times as my baseball friends. Additionally, I’ve been able to spend time with new friends who I’ve become close with through taking advantage of new experiences. Overall, this has been one of my favorite years at Babson so far, and I am looking forward to the rest of my time here!