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    Photo Robert Rohrhirsch

    December 09, 2021

    Robert Rohrhirsch '21: Le Moyne Has Shaped His Future and His Character

    When Robert Rohrhirsch ’21 arrived at Le Moyne in the fall of 2018, it was not just his first time on the College’s campus; it was his first time in the United States. Rohrhirsch grew up just outside of Munich, Germany, in the southeastern state of Bavaria. The region is home to the nearly 300-year-old Margravial Opera House, natural wonders like Lake Königssee, and luxury vehicle manufacturer BMW. It is also a place with a well-earned reputation for producing individuals who are unafraid to venture out into the world in order to make their mark on it, people like clothier Levi Strauss, neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer, and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Given that history, it’s not surprising that when Rohrhirsch learned about the opportunity to study and play soccer in the United States, he did not hesitate.

     

    Rohrhirsch was pursuing an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering at Munich University of Applied Sciences when he decided to put his studies there on hold to pursue his education in the United States. It was a big step, he acknowledged. However, after investigating the College’s Madden School of Business and speaking to Coach Tom Bonus, he felt certain it was the right one for him. Before Rohrhirsch knew it, he found himself engrossed in a new interest in finance thanks in part to Assistant Professor of Business Analytics Furkan Oztanriseven, Ph.D., whose passion for business ignited his own. He’d also found a second family with his teammates, with whom he won the Northeast-10 regular season conference championship in 2018.

     

    When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, Rohrhirsch and his classmates returned home to quarantine. It was an intense time, he acknowledges. Rohrhirsch completed his undergraduate degree in business analytics from Le Moyne remotely from in December of 2020. When he learned that the NCAA awarded student-athletes an additional year of eligibility, he jumped at the opportunity to return to campus and pursue a master’s degree in business administration specializing in analytics. After he finishes his master’s degree in December, Rohrhirsch plans to return to Germany and to complete his initial undergraduate degree in industrial engineering. (The final pieces of that puzzle are writing his undergraduate thesis and completing a 20-week internship, hopefully with an auto manufacturer like BMW or Audi.) After that, Rohrhisch is not sure where his career will take him, but he knows that it will be influenced by the time he spent abroad. 

     

    “It shapes your character,” he says. “It makes you grow in ways you couldn’t have imagined.”

     

    This is part of a series of stories on students pursuing a graduate degree from the Madden School of Business.

    Category: Student Voices