My name is Jack Steger. I am a senior marketing and management double major with a sports management minor at St. Bonaventure University.
Growing up, St. Bonaventure was a household name with a mother and uncles who attended the university and a great uncle who was a friar and basketball chaplain back in the day. I can still remember attending my first basketball game on a cold February day in 2009. I knew there was something special at St. Bonaventure as I looked around the arena as the Bonnies took on UMass.
Fast forward nine years and I am going through the college decision process. I had narrowed my decision down to St. Bonaventure and another local college. The biggest reason for narrowing it down to these two schools was the financial aid packages they offered. From there, I set a deadline for myself of mid-March to make my decision. Days before I would make that decision, I received a call from a professor in the marketing department asking if I had any questions and if I was still interested in attending St. Bonaventure. Taking the time out of his day to call me and ask if I had any questions made all the difference for me. I put my deposit down within an hour of that call to become a Bonnie.
From the moment I arrived on campus, I knew I wanted to be as involved as possible and make my four years count. During my freshman year, St. Bonaventure launched the inaugural season of men’s lacrosse at the Division I level. A friend told me of an opportunity to be the team’s manager. I applied and was later hired. This gave me the experience of being part of a Division I program. It also gave me the opportunity to travel the country to places like North Carolina, Georgia, and Colorado. Every year we have continued to see growth within the program and have been able to get to a more competitive level. Due to my involvement with this program, I was able to grow within the Department of Athletics, serving as the director of special projects for men’s and women’s lacrosse as well as a compliance intern. I am beyond grateful for these opportunities.
While I have focused and dedicated most of my time to the Department of Athletics, I have also been able to spend time working within academics as a teaching assistant. This position has given me multiple opportunities that I would not change for the world.
During my spare time, I enjoy volunteering for the Student Government Association, serving as a development associate in the Franciscan Center for Social Concern, and working as a graphic design intern in the Office of Marketing and Communications. These positions on campus have helped form me into a business professional and I feel prepared to tackle the workforce following my graduation in May 2022.
In the end, the greatest aspect about my time here at St. Bonaventure has been the people — the professors who have become mentors and family to me, the staff around campus who make this university what it is, and the classmates with whom I’ve forged long-lasting friendships.
As I begin my final year here at St. Bonaventure, I am excited to make every moment count and not look back with any regrets.