Dan Suher '08: Track and cross country
Senior Dan Suher is a member of the nationally-ranked cross-country, and vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He credits his performance as an All-University Athletic Association and All-New England athlete to the teaching methods of head coach John Evans and the rest of the Brandeis coaching staff.
1) What has been the highlight of your athletic career so far?
The highlight of my athletic career is actually quite bitter-sweet for a number of reasons; however it still would have to be participating on the DMR squad at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track Championships. While I was originally an alternate not on the qualifying squad, and we finished just shy of All American status, the experience was amazing. Getting to compete against the best competition in the country on the national stage was great, but even better it was just a taste to make me want to get back there again.
2) What makes your team special?
The men’s cross country and track and field teams at Brandeis are special because of tradition. It has long been one of the most successful programs in New England or even Division III history. Currently under John Evans it has been great to work with teammates and coaches to restore that tradition, getting better as individuals and as a team every single day, week, month and year.
3) How do your experiences on the court translate to the class room/world?
Beside the obvious team dynamic, it has been some of the struggles I have had on the track that have been most useful in the classroom and the “real world”. My junior year season for various reasons was tough to continue my sophomore success, however persistence and dedication helped me stick to it and achieve my goals now as a senior. These same criteria have been a phenomenal help in my everyday life, especially with school work, as small set-backs always have solutions.
4) What is your favorite class and why?
The favorite of all classes I have taken at Brandeis would have to be Wealth and Poverty with Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton. While having a noteworthy professor like Reich definitely makes the class stick out in my mind, the reason why I enjoyed it so much is that as an interdisciplinary class it truly defined the Brandeis education in my mind. It combined subjects in economics, and politics - both of which I am majoring in - as well as sociology which I have also been drawn to. The experience in that course gave me the ability to apply my interests to the real world.
5) What is your favorite non-athletic activity at Brandeis and why?
My favorite non-athletic activity, because of the amount of time I have spent doing it, would have to be my work in the Admissions office. It has allowed me to see the other side of Brandeis as the University prepares for its future. I have over the years had the opportunity to work in the office in a number of different roles, from giving tours to interviewing prospective students as a Senior Admissions Assistant. I have met a number of interesting people and learned much in my four years at Admissions, and have enjoyed being able to see Brandeis grow and share my experiences with the future of the university.
6) What are your aspirations after Brandeis?
As a kid, some people want to be an astronaut, or a firefighter, but after seeing the movie Jerry McGuire, all I wanted to do was be a sports agent. While I have had other aspirations since then, I seem to always go back to my love of sports and business and finding a way to put them together. At this point I still aspire to be an agent, or go into sports marketing. While I will take a year off after graduation, I plan on going to grad school for a Masters in Sports Management and an MBA, to one day work in the front office of a major sports franchise.
7) What is something surprising we might not know about you?
One thing that very few people know about me, is that I am an avid collegiate a cappella fan. While basically tone deaf myself, I was turned on to the genre by a musically inclined friend back home in Delaware. I find the music to be soothing, and it is always interesting to hear a group’s take on a recording artist’s song, and how they change it in many ways for the better. Brandeis has so many groups that when I need my fix it always seems to be there.