For Immediate Release
June 27, 2011
Courtesy of Boston.com, Written by Marvin Pave
Jared Kawadler is living in Manhattan now, preparing for his new job as an investment banking analyst that starts next month.
During the past four years, the Sharon native built an impressive resume at Bentley University; his latest honor was the Edward J. Powers Award as the school's premier senior scholar-athlete.
"It's a tremendous honor, especially at a school like Bentley,'' said Kawadler. He had walked onto the football team as an undersized center out of Xaverian Brothers, earned a spot in the starting lineup as a sophomore, and was a second team All-Northeast-10 Conference selection last fall as a team captain.
"What makes it so special is that so many other of my classmates could have won it.''
Bentley head coach Thom Boerman said Kawadler epitomizes what every coach wants his players to be.
"Which is to do the very best they can on the field, in the classroom and in life,'' said Boerman. "Jared led by example and by being given the Powers Award, all that effort on and off the field was recognized.''
Kawadler, an economics-finance major whose workout regime after arriving on campus helped him bulk up to 255 pounds, originally thought he'd be playing at a Division 3 program, possibly in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
"It just didn't work out that way and going to Bentley (a Division 2 school) turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me,'' said Kawadler, who was not recruited by former Falcons head coach Peter Yetten.
"But I wouldn't be where I am today if not for Coach Yetten's encouragement. He told me to come out two days before camp started my freshman year and I was about 5-10 and 220 at the time,'' said Kawadler.
His coach at Xaverian, Charlie Stevenson, "always told us that work ethic was everything and just like in high school, I knew if I worked hard enough, my day would come.''
Kawadler also was a repeat selection for the Northeast-10 Sport Excellence award for football, as the conference's top student-athlete in the sport. A first-team ESPN Academic All-America, he graduated with a 3.87 grade point average.
"Football teaches you that nothing is given to you,'' he said. "If you want something you have to work for it. A football season may be eight or 10 games, but preparing for it takes years, and that's the attitude I'm taking to my new job.
"But I know I'll be thinking about football and wishing I could go back and do it all over again because I loved it,'' added Kawadler, who returned home last week to keep a promise to his buddies he would join them to watch Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final.
Because Kawadler didn't have cable TV set up at his new place in New York, he had watched the Bruins at a local pub.
"I had to beg the bartender to change the channels so I could see the Bruins play and I was the only guy there who cheered when they scored,'' he said.
