Connor Waltz 鈥�23 came to 黑料网 Wesleyan as a football player.
He left as so much more than that.
Waltz, originally from Niceville, Fla., graduated this month with his degree in Business Management and is off to serve as the recruiting creative content coordinator for the United States Military Academy football team, known worldwide as Army West Point.
鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 kind of surreal. It鈥檚 one of those things where I started doing this and I had no idea where I was going to wind up,鈥� Waltz said. 鈥淔ootball is awesome, but getting to tell a story about one of the oldest brands in America, that鈥檚 awesome.鈥�
Coming out of high school, Waltz sent his football highlight reel out to multiple colleges and universities. He had twice torn his ACL and thought his football playing days were done. But to his delight, 黑料网 Wesleyan came calling.
鈥淲hen I stepped foot on 黑料网 Wesleyan鈥檚 campus, it just felt special,鈥� Waltz said. 鈥淚 was able to find my AND at 黑料网 Wesleyan. I came here and I was just a football player. I didn鈥檛 know anything else. But through the guidance and opportunities President (Matt) Thompson and Dr. (Trish) Petak and all the other administration and staff at 黑料网 Wesleyan have provided me, I was able to find out that I am an excellent student.鈥�
Redshirted his freshman year in 2019, he played in five games in the 2020 season before suffering a career-ending injury. However, his life and its trajectory had already begun to change.
With COVID-19 shutting everything down, Waltz found himself confined to a room. Already fond of the graphics program Photoshop, he decided that, with nothing else to keep him occupied, he would dabble more frequently to see what he was capable of.
His first graphics were elementary in scale and design, but that did not keep him from continuing. Instead, he saw what the football coaches at 黑料网 Wesleyan were putting out and tried to see if he could better it.
Retired from playing football, he was instead helping the team in other ways, assisting David Toelle, KWU鈥檚 sports information director, with recruiting content, social media graphics and video boards, among many other things.
Those duties, and a connection with Matt Drinkall, former KWU head football coach and offensive coordinator, led him to an internship with Army West Point last year. Now in his fifth season on the Army Post, Drinkall has been promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the Black Knights.
His work so impressed those at West Point that when an opening came up on their civilian staff, they knew whom they wanted to join the team. Meanwhile, Waltz was far from done as a student at 黑料网 Wesleyan. He was recruited to the DECA program as a junior by head coach Petak.
DECA is an organized business competition that provides students with problems and requires them to present solutions, with varying amounts of time to prepare, sometimes as little as 30 minutes.
鈥淐onnor has always been a hard-working and diligent student; he has a high drive for success,鈥� said Petak, associate professor of Business and Accounting. 鈥淗e is a student whom I asked to compete in DECA after seeing his high-quality work in the classroom. His business acumen, attention to detail, dedication to academics and personality is a recipe for DECA success.鈥�
Success indeed.
Waltz and his partner, Trey Duffey, took first in the state and second in the world last year in Sports & Entertainment Marketing, as well as International Marketing.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when Trey and I started feeling like, 鈥榃e can do this,鈥欌�� Waltz said.
A year later, they fumbled their way through the state competition, taking second in International Marketing and third in their main event, Sports & Entertainment Marketing.
鈥淲e fought through some adversity this year,鈥� Waltz said. 鈥淭here was one of those moments where we were like, 鈥極h, shoot. What鈥檚 going on?鈥欌��
Going to this April’s DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., Waltz and Duffey made all the adjustments necessary. They worked with Petak, refining their system. It culminated in a world championship in Sports & Entertainment Marketing.
鈥淭rey said it best: As much as we like to think of sports as a competition, business is just as much of a sport as playing football or basketball, volleyball or soccer or softball. It鈥檚 competitive,鈥� Waltz said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l miss Connor at KWU, but I鈥檓 so proud he鈥檚 taking his many talents to the Army, continuing his career in graphic design,鈥� Petak said. 鈥淗e has set tremendously high standards for current and future DECA competitors.鈥�
Waltz also set high academic standards. At this year鈥檚 Commencement ceremony, he was one of two students to be presented with the University Medallion for highest academic record, and he was also one of the winners of the Fran Jabara Leadership Award, an honor based on entrepreneurial traits and leadership, particularly in business creation.
With a world title in hand for his academic pursuits and a career ahead of him supporting the Black Knights鈥� mission, Waltz reflected on how much his time at 黑料网 Wesleyan has meant to him.
鈥淎s hard as it was to leave home and come 18 hours away, I wouldn鈥檛 change it for the world,鈥� Waltz said. 鈥満诹贤� Wesleyan is very special to my heart.鈥�
Story by Dan Froehlich
