Game Theory Group is true to its mission in hiring student-athletes, typically recruiting current and former student-athletes to serve as interns for the company. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be introducing you to our talented team of interns with a little information on their background and how GTG’s platform has helped them.
Name: Griffin Snyder
School: University of St. Thomas
Sport: Football (Kicker)
Griffin was a standout athlete and student while earning his degree in business at the University of St. Thomas. Griffin maintained a GPA above 3.0 while being a full-time student, football player, and interning in market research for Game Theory Group. After graduating last May, Griffin traveled with his girlfriend to India to volunteer with Missionaries of Charity, the order that Mother Teresa started. Upon his return, he landed a job as an Associate Account Manager with BlueSpire Strategic Marketing in Minneapolis, Minn.
Check out the Q&A below for more on Griffin’s experience as a student-athlete, his trip to India, and more.
Q: How did being a student athlete help you?
A: Being a student-athlete provided me with many opportunities to meet people and experience things that I know will help me in my life and career going forward. It taught me to have a strong sense of responsibility, work-ethic and how to handle adversity when it will inevitably arrive.
Q: What made you want to be a student-athlete?
A: I’ve been playing sports since I was a kid and they always were a big part of my life. I thought I might try and play soccer or golf after high school, but football came along and after I had my first taste of it I knew I wanted to keep playing. Fortunately for me, I was able to continue playing in college.
Q: How has being a student-athlete differed from your expectations going in?
A: I had a pretty good idea that it was going to be a big time commitment, playing a sport and going to classes. I did not realize that it would turn into such a huge part of my life that would be so influential for my future. I attribute much of the way I look at the world to my time on the field and with the team.
Q: What benefits have you seen of being a student athlete?
A: I think my abilities to manage my time certainly were improved. Also, forming a strong work-ethic and attitude that no matter what the task at hand may be, I know that if I have a good outlook on it and bring the right attitude anything can be accomplished. But I think the biggest benefit was learning how to handle adversity. There were always challenges each year in the classroom and on the field, and often you would not see them coming. Learning to embrace the struggle and see the good in it was the biggest benefit for me.
Q: What skills have you learned as a student-athlete that will translate to the work place?
A: I would say the ability to work with different people as a group that shares common goals will definitely translate well. As I said before, being able to manage multiple responsibilities at the same time will be crucial as I make the transition into the professional world.
Q: Has your involvement as a student athlete made it more likely that you will give back to your academic institution (with time and money) going forward?
A: I think it has. I feel a stronger connection to the school and I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that were provided to me during my four years. Though, I have not been gone very long, I feel an attachment and responsibility to make sure the experiences of those who attend St. Thomas in the future are positive.
Q: Tell me about the job you landed out of school.
A: Currently, I am an Associate Account Manager with BlueSpire Strategic Marketing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating with a marketing degree, I do not think I could have found a better job right out of school. I am able to use all of the things that I learned in school on a daily basis, and more importantly I am learning tons about what it is to be a marketing professional in the world today.
Q: What was the trip for India all about?
A: After graduation, my girlfriend Andrea and I both felt a strong call to go and volunteer abroad. We were able to spend three weeks in Kolkata, India with the Missionaries of Charity, the order that Mother Teresa started. It turned out to be an incredibly challenging experience. There are not many comforts of home that one can find in India. We were able to volunteer daily at Kalighat, which was the first home Mother Teresa created and the home for the “Dying and Destitute.” Being able to spend time with the poorest of the poor had a huge impact on our view of the world. A majority of these people were abandoned by their loved ones or caretakers. Kalighat, and Kolkata for that matter, were unlike anything I had ever experienced. It took a strong and consistent reliance on God to make it through each and every day. I know that coming back from India I certainly look at the world in a different light and realized how truly blessed we are.
