My Marquette Memories
I never could have expected this would happen.
Within 72 hours, my life changed completely. In the blink of an eye, I went from being in the heart of my senior season, to the cancellation of the season and a fully remote learning environment.
With COVID-19 causing the cancellation of half of the NCAA lacrosse season, I was faced with the choice of what I wanted to do next with my life. I could either come back and play another year while attending graduate school or move on to enter the work force, which was what I had planned to do coming into this year.
This was one of the hardest decisions of my life.
I thought it over for a long time and had long conversations with friends and family about my decision.
Ultimately, I decided that it was time to move on from Marquette along with my collegiate athletic career.
One of the most difficult times for an athlete is facing the end of their playing career. However, I believe deciding it on your own terms makes it even more difficult.
Following a phone call with the coaching staff in May, I could feel that my time at Marquette was coming to an end. I was left in tears knowing that this was my ultimate reality. I had clung onto the hope of coming back up to this point, but now the hope was gone.
My whole life had been building up to my time at Marquette, so it was a surreal feeling to know that this time was coming to an end. I had been raised in a Marquette family, with tremendous love for the university.
I was a devoted Marquette sports fan way before attending the university. I get the chills whenever I hear a “We Are Marquette” chant or the “Ring Out Ahoya” fight song.
Growing up, my family taught me all about Marquette, but like me, their time at Marquette came to an end at some point. However, they have shown me how the values and the relationships live on through active involvement in alumni events.
After talking to my coaches, they encouraged me to reflect upon my time at Marquette. Being extremely busy during the school year, this was something I did not have the time to do in the past. After completing my final classes, I spent the whole summer thinking about my time at Marquette and where my journey had taken me. I scrolled through my camera roll on my phone countless times looking back at everything that I had been through during my four years.
After reflecting upon my experiences, I realized that I am leaving Marquette with many things. First and foremost is a degree, which is what I set out to do from the minute I stepped on campus. Next is a ton of incredible friendships and relationships that I will treasure forever. Finally, I am leaving with an abundance of memories that I will be able to look back upon and be able to use to tell the story of my Marquette experience.
Some of my Marquette Memories include:
- A Service Trip in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Bus rides all over the country
- Celebrations in the student section
- Early mornings in the Al McGuire Center
- Exploring downtown Milwaukee
- Focused pregame locker rooms
- Friday flights for weekend games
- Hanging out in hotel rooms
- Homecoming bed races
- Loud locker rooms after wins
- Marquette Madness
- Showing others my hidden talent
- 6 AM shuttle rides to Valley Fields
- Team dinners in different cities
- Annual Turkey Bowls
- Victorious Nights at Valley Fields
- And so much more…
During my Freshman year, I remember discussing with a teammate, Nick Singleton, about the countless memories we made during our first two weeks of fall practice. I remember talking about how crazy it will be to finish our career with a lifetime of memories.
That completely came true and I am ending with a limitless number of great memories.
While I tremendously miss all the events, I will miss the people the most.
When coming to Marquette, I thought success was measured by two things, your impact on athletic field and your grades in the classroom. However, recently I heard someone say that success is measured by your impact on others, which fits Marquette’s tagline of “Be The Difference”.
I completely agree.
I feel like I have impacted an incredible number of people in a deep way and for that, I am extremely grateful.
While a university’s major focus is to be a place of learning. My time at Marquette has taught me many things inside and outside of the classroom.
Within the typical learning confines, I’ve learned how to shoot video, utilize digital marketing schemes and drive creativity. While these skills are needed to spark me into a career in sports media, the skills I learned outside of the classroom will help me most in life.
Marquette Lacrosse at its core is centered around love. My perspective on love has completely changed over my four years. Like many other 18-year old men, I viewed love solely from a romantic view point, but my view now is much broader.
My teammates and I are not afraid to say “I love you” and will do anything for each other. We are not afraid of vulnerability and know this is what brings people closer together. With love for others and an organization, anything is possible. This is something I hope to carry into my professional career.
With Marquette’s Jesuit background, the school emphasizes the importance of “Cura Personalis” or care for the entire person. This is what I am most grateful for from my time at Marquette. The people on campus truly care for each other and in developing students into complete people.
I came into Marquette identifying as almost solely as a lacrosse player. However, I am leaving Marquette as a more complete person who will forever be part of the Marquette community.
I entered Marquette as a young boy, shy and reserved with a few close friends.
I am leaving Marquette as a man, full of experiences and numerous friends from all around the world.
I am so glad I made the decision to come to Marquette when I was a sophomore in high school. At that time, I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I am so thankful for it.
I want to thank my parents, coaches, family and friends for everything that they have done for me. Without them, I would not have had the opportunities that I did.
As the new school year approaches, I encourage the current Marquette students to do a few things.
First off, I hope you engage as many ways as possible. Many of my Marquette Memories would not have happened without engaging in different organizations or groups around campus.
Next, get to know the people in the Marquette community. What truly makes Marquette special is the people. I was blessed to meet a ton of incredible people during my time from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Many of these people will be my friends forever.
Lastly, I believe if you dive deep into Marquette, it will give you so much in return. At its core, the Marquette community is focused around excellence, faith, leadership and service.
Marquette has taught me how to strive for excellence in all these aspects of life.
I grew deeper in my faith through organizations like FCA.
I practiced leadership strategies within different groups on campus.
I deepened my appreciation for service and had the opportunity to help many people in the Milwaukee community.
All of this has truly allowed me to “Be The Difference”.
I am completely thankful for everything Marquette has given me throughout my life and will in the future. As I grow older in life, Marquette will always hold a special place in my heart. I am thankful for all the good times and tough times over the last four years.
I will always be a Marquette super fan and cannot wait to continue to build my next Marquette Memories.
