Studying, hustling part-time jobs that can feel full time, humping it for Hunter Hawks Men’s Soccer Team as well as reporting on sports for the campus newspaper, The Envoy – all these endeavors make for a very busy semester for Conor Sullivan, a junior.
Conor Sullivan. Picture by CoCo Lin.
Soccer is a special endeavor. Sullivan, who lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, plays center back for the Hawks. You may say soccer is in his blood. He’s played competitive soccer since he was 10 years old and got that passion from his dad who’s a true believer in the mightiness of Manchester United, also known as Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United, or simply United, a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.
Asked in an interview about what his new semester feels like, Sullivan, a double major in media studies and minoring in journalism and clinical psychology, said, “It feels pretty good to be back. I’m most productive in the fall. I try to stack my schedule up more now to have a bit less in the spring.”
Sullivan hopes to be a sports journalist. But he also has thoughts about putting his psych degree to use as a sports counselor or psychologist. Figuring out what to do with your life can be tough for many students in the early years of their college studies.
While studying law in high school at the academically challenging Brooklyn Technical High School, he got an internship with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and realized law enforcement wasn’t for him. After graduating high school in 2020 during the Pandemic, Sullivan started his college journey at Hunter College, online back then because of the COVID Pandemic.
But in spring semester, 2021, he transferred to Binghamton University to study psychology. After a semester, he wasn’t happy. In summer of 2021, after experiencing hip pain, Sullivan learned he had a genetic disorder after a visit with a doctor who said he had to have surgery. The surgery was a success, although, Sullivan said, he will need at least two more surgeries, eventually; physical therapy has helped get him back to competitive playing shape.
Binghamton U, Sullivan said, wasn’t very supportive or accommodating after his surgery, so he returned to Hunter. For this soccer season, he said at the time of this interview early in the semester, he and his teammates hoped they would improve their record. Last year, they finished third in the CUNYAC soccer season. They want a winning season, he said, which was last done 15 years ago.
When he’s not on the field playing or practicing or in classes, he works. During the week, for the past seven years, he works at a non-profit organization where he is responsible for dealing kids. On the weekends, he works as a doorman in a luxury apartment building in Brooklyn.
When he has some downtime, he enjoys being with his parents and playing video games. He has a twin sister who is enrolled at Binghamton and a younger brother.
[Conor Sullivan Made CUNYAC All Stars Second Team]
Shannon McGee can be reached at SHANNON.MCGEE55@myhunter.cuny.edu