JUSTIN TIME: Athletes Become Recruits Again

As I was sitting in the Office of Career Services (OCS) last week, cramming case study formations from my crumpled piece of wide-ruled notebook paper into my head so that I might one day get a bid for my soul, I couldn’t help but wonder: is the dude across from me wearing a tight suit so he can look like an athlete, or does being an athlete just make the suit look like an impulse order off of Gilt Groupe?

My nervous scrutiny of my peers stopped at this point, and I started wondering just how different my recruiting experiences were from the size-18 neck guy I was waiting with.

Do varsity athletes suffer with job searches because they spend 20-plus hours over the river and traveling to schools nationwide?

Or does the fact that they must exhibit great discipline and time management skills in order to complete both their physical and academic obligations make them more attractive to recruiters, giving them an edge?

Surely, being an athlete both helps and hurts in this regard. What they all share, though, is a heightened appreciation for their specialties during challenging and busy times, most notably when they must relay the values that sports have taught them to others. When times are hard, morale is high.

“Being an athlete is definitely an advantage in some ways,” said Chelsea L. Ono Horn ’10, a right side hitter on Crimson women’s volleyball. “It’s a good bridge for the questions on teamwork and leadership. On the other hand, I’m barely doing school.”

Last summer, Ono Horn interned at LearnVest, a personal finance and education startup. This month, she has been interviewing rigorously with financial institutions and consulting firms.

“In between balancing practice and being away every other weekend, and studying for interviews, I have very little time to write my thesis, take the LSATs in December, and keep up with all of the reading for my courses,” Ono Horn added.

All of that said, her recent experiences have brought about the moments when she is perhaps the most grateful for her volleyball career.

“I can’t imagine not being an athlete at Harvard, its so much my identity. I wouldn’t sacrifice that just so that I could have more time for recruiting. Something’s gotta give.”

Crimson women’s tennis player Agnes K. Sibilski ’11 takes a different approach, as she seeks to integrate athletics and occupations.

This past summer she traveled to Bonn, Germany to work for the International Paralympic Committee in their Scientific and Medical Department.

A premed student, Sibilski sees sports and medicine in her future. While reflecting on her time here, she realizes that tennis is her complement to the pressures of Harvard.

“I try to distance myself, so I’m not always thinking about tennis and I get a break from it,” Sibilski said. “That way, it’s more of an outlet.”

Former Crimson men’s basketball player Ndu Okereke ’10 has followed a more traditional Harvard path, which started when he landed a summer internship with Goldman Sachs in his sophomore year, when he was still playing varsity baskeball. On the team, Okereke benefitted from the competitive and collaborative atmosphere.

“I wouldn’t say [athletes] have an edge, but I would say that the team experience helps prepare them, as it helps them become better at dealing with people. And these are people businesses.”

While I won’t be able to tell you what became of our friend in the OCS lounge, I will say from my conversations with athletes that he probably never experienced a more transitional period in his life that has caused him to articulate so naturally why he gets up at the crack of dawn every day. When you grow up immersed in an activity that shapes your character and your behavior, there is nothing more rewarding than taking lessons learned over the years and applying them to a successful career, no matter what field it may be in. That makes it all worth it.

—Staff writer Justin W. White can be reached at jwwhite@fas.harvard.edu.