By Maeghan Ouimet
BOSTON – Eric Zuerndorfer, a 21-year-old junior print journalism major at Boston University, prefers to go unnoticed in a city congested by people fighting for attention.
Leaving the comfort of his Tampa, Fla., private school, Eric traveled to Boston hoping for a change, and a change is what he got. No longer the well-known baseball player that knew everyone he saw in his school’s hallway, Eric was forced to adapt to his new environment – an environment without a baseball team.
“The only thing that got me by in high school was my athletic ability,” Zuerndorfer said, noting his transition to student from full-time student-athlete was difficult.
Unable to identify as an athlete, Zuerndorfer heeded his father’s advice to become a business major. His father, Gordon, an All-American lacrosse player at MIT, set a high bar for his middle son. Without athletics Zuerndorfer hoped to appease his parents' academic wishes for him and enrolled in the Boston University’s School of Management at the start of his junior year.
“I left after two weeks. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but what my family wanted me to do,” Zuerndorfer said.
He soon found his niche in journalism, where he plans to focus on sports writing. No longer consumed by his father’s wishes, Eric finds himself happier, which, for him is a personal victory.
“I’m quiet and I hate confrontation,” he said.
Taking a new path was not something that came easily, but his time at Boston University has taught him to fight for what he believes in.
Following his older brother, Adam, a recent Emory College graduate who works as a sports writer for The Lenoir (N.C.) New-Topic, will pose another set of challenges for Zuerndorfer.
“When Eric told me he wanted to be a journalism major, my first reaction was disbelief. Eric as a sports writer is like Michael Jordan as a third baseman,” his brother said.
Adam said he believes that Eric will succeed in whatever field he chooses to pursue.
“Eric could be a multi million-dollar business manager or a high school volleyball coach and I wouldn’t be surprised. He can do pretty much anything he sets his mind to,” his brother said.
Now, Eric and his girlfriend Laura Markey plan to study abroad in Australia for their first semester of their senior year.
“I think it’s a way for students to get away, and why wouldn’t I want to get away?” Zuerndorfer asked.