Throughout the 2009-2010 academic year, the Northeast-10 and its member institutions will be featuring student-athletes across the conference in the brand new ‘Student-Athlete Spotlight’ section on the Northeast-10 website. Our 12th installment, submitted by Darryl Konicki, Sports Information Director at American International College, features cross country and track athlete Brian Mulwo.


By Darryl Konicki, American International


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – With 53 student-athletes hailing from 17 foreign countries on five different continents, American International College truly lives up to its name. One of those student- athletes is Brian Mulwo, a sophomore member of the cross country and track & field teams from Kapsabet, Kenya.

“I always wanted to come to the United States to study because the U.S. system of college education is good for the student-athlete,” Brian said. “It allows you to study and prepare for your career goals and at the same time improve your talent as an athlete.”

The decision making process was not hard because I have a lot of relatives who have been to the US colleges and are professional athletes while at the same time working in the particular fields that they studied for.

For some making the decision to leave home to pursue their education can be a difficult one, and adjusting to life in a new country can be even harder. This was not the case for Brian, who pointed to a variety of reasons for both.

“I have a lot of relatives who have been to U.S. colleges and are now professional athletes while at the same time working in the particular fields that they studied for. Adjusting to life at AIC was easier because back home I was attending boarding schools from the time I was in elementary school. I also wanted to go to a college with a lot of diversity and you find students from all over the world at AIC. It’s truly an international institution”

Having some of his fellow countrymen – Glarius Rop, Victor Kemboi and Daniel Kiprono - on campus and as teammates has also helped. “I knew them well back home since we competed and trained together and we are all from the same part of Kenya.”

“Being a member of the cross country and track & field teams has helped a lot too. Being able to train and compete with my teammates in addition to being in class makes the experience better.”

There has been one part of life in Springfield that took a while to get used to. “The cold weather, it’s a lot warmer throughout the year back home!”

Brian has proven to be successful in the classroom and in competition, earning dean’s list honors in the classroom and all-conference honors as a member of the Yellow Jacket cross country and track & field teams since he arrived in the fall of 2008.

A political science major, Brian has a clear path laid out for himself after graduation.

“I want to do some intense training back home and compete in some road races. Once my racing career is over I’d like to work for my government back home, either in foreign service or in the Kenyan government itself.”