SNU’s Connor Kelly
After spending receiving an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and playing four years of college rugby at Montana State University, Connor Kelly made the decision to pursue a master’s degree at Southern Nazarene University.
“Returning to school to get a master’s degree was in a lot of ways an avenue for me to make more money being a classroom teacher and doing what I love. I have also been involved in sports from a young age, so coaches and athletic directors have been a huge part of my life and educational story, and I would really like to be that person for aspiring student athletes,” Kelly said.
What made SNU the right choice was simple, but important to Kelly.
“SNU was the right choice for me because it gave me an opportunity to continue playing rugby at a high level and gave me a faith-based environment to continue my education. Faith can hit the back burner at a big state school, so the opportunity to be around educators, coaches, and classmates that are on the same mission with their personal faith goals was really enticing to me when I first found the school,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the instructors care about the students of SNU, the class sizes are small, which allows for discussion in a meaningful way.
“Additionally, the professor’s and department’s connections to professionals working in the field every day has helped sort potential directions post-graduation as well as giving me a good look into what challenges sports executives and athletic directors face on a day-to-day basis.”
A big surprise for Kelly was the diversity of countries, sports, and future career plans within his cohort.
“We have people from multiple countries and multiple levels of sports backgrounds, so there is always something to be learned within class discussions.”
Kelly offers this advice to anyone looking to continue their education.
“If you are looking to get a sports management degree the amount of connections and new experiences that you will get at SNU is unmatched. I have met executives from the biggest athletic programs and teams in Oklahoma and learned new perspectives and ways of knowing from my classmates and instructors who come from various backgrounds and have differing sets of professional goals,” said Kelly.
Kelly will be working as the 8th grade U.S. History teacher at Cedar Park Christian in Bothell, Washington for the 26-27 school year.
