Field of Focus
From Kenyon News - October 2, 2015
When the chaos of a football Saturday subsides, senior quarterback Jake Bates ’16 rests easier knowing that his immediate future is not entangled in the same turmoil as an all-out blitz. Thanks to off-the-field assistance from the Kenyon Athletic Mentorship Program (KAMP), Bates approaches his December graduation having already secured a full-time job.
KAMP matches football players with alumni mentors who provide advice and assistance for student-athletes facing post-graduate decisions. Former Lord McNeil Parker ’10, with the assistance of former teammates and Head Coach Chris Monfiletto, adapted the idea from his work with the Northwestern University football program.
Bates, an economics major from Noblesville, Indiana, developed his interest in investment banking by joining Kenyon’s Economics Reading Group, a focus group that hosts guest lecturers and meets weekly to discuss economic issues. Through KAMP, Bates also began conversations with David Rose ’81, a senior vice president at Davenport & Company and a graduate of the Kenyon football team. With Rose’s guidance, Bates earned a summer internship as a public finance analyst, a position he’ll begin full-time in January.
“I was sending out resumes to bigger companies and got a few interviews, but I didn’t have that personal connection with any of them, and I think that was something that was holding me back,” said Bates, who urges his teammates to reach out to their mentors. Now all juniors and seniors on the roster are paired with at least one of KAMP’s 30 alumni volunteers.
“I think Kenyon football alumni know that if you go to Kenyon, you are a pretty sharp kid,” Bates said. “And they know that if you play football, you know how to communicate because you’ve had to do so consistently with teammates and coaches. You know how to work hard, how to balance a schedule and how to work collaboratively.”
Bates, a member of the Lords football team for three seasons, has covered 671 yards in four games so far this season, tossing six touchdowns without an interception and completing a total of 56 passes in 100 attempts. He was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his work guiding the football team to a decisive victory over Allegheny College.