Only about a month into his college coaching career, Bluffton men’s soccer graduate assistant Harry Kirwan is back to doing the thing he loves while also pursuing a master’s degree.
Kirwan originally attended St. Catharine (Ky.) College for two years. While he was working in a grocery store in England, he found out that St. Catherine would be closing. Luckily, a nearby women’s college, Midway (Ky.) University, Midway was going coed, and Kirwan ended up finishing his last two years of college and his playing career there.
After graduation, he worked at a bank for a year, but he knew that was not what he wanted to do long term.
“I just wasn’t happy,” Kirwan said. “I just wanted to get back into soccer. The next move after graduation is coaching, and that is how I ended up finding the GA position here.”
While talking with a fellow coworker at the bank, it was brought up that Kirwan was looking for a graduate assistant job, and his coworker was the perfect person with whom to have that conversation. His friend knew and played soccer with Hanover (Ind.) College’s coach, and asked him whether he was looking for a graduate assistant.
He wasn’t, but he happened to know a lot of college coaches, one of whom was Bluffton men’s soccer coach, Sean Elvert, who was looking to fill the graduate assistant role for his team at Bluffton.
After a phone interview, Kirwan made the quick trip to Bluffton from northern Kentucky to meet with his future professors and visit the campus, where he fell in love with Bluffton University.
“I loved it instantly, it was a perfect fit,” Kirwan said.
The biggest challenge he faced was not knowing what he was getting himself into.
“When English people think about the American dream you think of places like New York, LA or California, and you really have no idea about what is in between,” said Kirwan.
Kirwan said the transition can be hard and he’s open to connecting with others who share his experience. If there is anybody out there moving from far away, another country or even out of state, he said he has been through the process and he’s willing to talk.
