Scholar Stories: Eernisse Planning for Future, Balancing the Present
11/20/2024 10:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By James Harrison
University of Michigan ice hockey junior Josh Eernisse has loved the sport since he was very young, shooting pucks at his daycare or playing NHL on Xbox.
"I would like to play hockey as long as possible, that's always been my goal as a little kid and to be able to live out that dream would be a really cool opportunity," said Eernisse.
He played for the University of St. Thomas in his home state of Minnesota before transferring to Michigan after his freshman year. When entering the transfer portal, he was looking for a program with a higher level of competition and a better strength of schedule that would push him to become a better player, which narrowed the potential schools to those in the Big Ten or National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
Eernisse strongly values academics and set himself up for success, athletically and academically, when he made his decision. The mix of a storied hockey program and the university's reputation as a public Ivy school is why Michigan was a no-brainer for him.
Even though it's Eernisse's dream to be a professional hockey player, he is very pragmatic in planning his future, looking to what happens after his hockey career is over.
"It's important to plan now for those things that may come after your career because at the end of the day, you never know how long that's going to last," Eernisse said. "That's where I think it's important to have that degree and think about what life is after."
Eernisse is certain about his desire to have a career in sports after his career, which is what led him to sport management.
"I've always been very interested in business and how that works," Eernisse said, "but the sport management program provides a unique opportunity to put a sports lens on top of that, which is something I've been super passionate about."
In sport management, the focus is on relevant sports cases and topics in the sports world.
"It's very engaging for me," Eernisse said. "It makes school a little more enjoyable as I am able to tie real-world things going on in sports to my learning and understanding."
Eernisse has been exploring different areas of the business of sports. He's taken accounting, finance, marketing and sales classes, searching for an area that interests him.
"I want to continue to stay involved in sport but also find something that I am passionate about," Eernisse said.
To prepare for his career after hockey, Eernisse is involved in many activities outside of the classroom in the sports business realm. This past summer, he went on the Career Venture to New York hosted by the Michigan Athletic Career Center. He gained invaluable exposure to multiple areas, including sports real estate, an area he is particularly interested in.
Eernisse is not waiting to get involved. Beyond his full schedule of academics and athletics, he is also one of two ice hockey representatives on the Michigan Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He is also Michigan's representative for the Big Ten SAAC and is on the Big Ten's Student-Athlete Issues Committee.
As a representative of the Michigan and Big Ten SAAC, Eernisse contributes toward the enhancement of the student-athlete experience by discussing challenges and issues they face and ideas for solutions at our university and those in the conference. As part of the Student-Athlete Issues Committee, Eernisse acts as a liaison between the Big Ten and its schools, gives input on legislation and acts as a voice for student-athletes.
In addition to these responsibilities, Eernisse earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors last year as a sophomore. He experienced a large amount of trial and error to get where he is now.
"I try to work ahead in my school and stay on top of things," Eernisse said. "Lots of things just pop up and if you're just trying to survive, it's easy to get overwhelmed."
"I take pride in the classroom. Balance and structure have really helped me succeed these last few years in academics and athletics."
Eernisse knows that being a student-athlete is a balancing act, and he does his best to maintain that balance.
"You have three rings as an athlete -- social, academic and athletics -- and normally one falls," Eernisse said.
By starting his assignments early, he has extra time if the assignment takes longer than he expected or if something comes up. But he can also stop doing homework around 8 or 9 p.m. each night to build in time with friends, roommates and teammates.
Not only does he build in social time with friends, but Eernisse also works to give back to the Ann Arbor community. He has a pen pal with a student at a local elementary school and also visits C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Each time he visits, Eernisse is reminded just how fortunate he is.
"They still have a smile on their face every day and they're so positive," he said. "It's the little things in life that make them happy. It really just readjusts your perspective."
Planning for his future professional and business careers while balancing academics, athletics, social and community values can seem overwhelming. But Eernisse makes it look easy.
"In order to be successful, you have to give 100 percent in all areas of your life," he said. "You can't cut corners. I try to execute at a high level in everything that I do."
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