NOTE: The Senior Close-Up is a frequent feature on the Bard Athletics web site, with the focus being the life of a student-athlete at Bard. Here, every student must complete a Senior Project to graduate. The Senior Project is an original, individual, focused project growing out of the student’s cumulative academic experiences. Preparation begins in the junior year, and one course each semester in the senior year is devoted entirely to the Senior Project. The student submits the completed project to a committee of three professors and participates with them in a Senior Project Review.
By Jim Sheahan
Bard College Sports Information Director
In high school, Eli Strauss looked very much like a basketball player.
At 6-foot-7, he certainly made an impression on opponents as a member of both the basketball and volleyball teams at Brooklyn Tech.
When he was recruited, most schools saw a basketball player. A few saw a volleyball player.
“Bard saw me as a student first,” Strauss said recently.
He was recruited by former Bard men’s basketball coach Chris Wood. “I visited Vassar first, and I asked the basketball coach about playing volleyball, too. He told me he didn’t want me playing volleyball.
“Coach Wood said, ‘If you come here, you don’t have to play basketball; you’re a student here first .’ He said ‘We’d love you to play volleyball, too, if that’s what you want.’ That said something about Bard to me. It was great feeling to know that I’d be at a great academic institution and be able to play a sport.”
The other lure, according to Strauss, was the opportunity to participate in the building of his own curriculum here – something other schools were unable to offer.
“I took ‘Intro to Acting’ in my freshman year,” said Strauss, a psychology major. “It was a major stress reliever. It was all improv. It was a great opportunity to be impulsive. The professor wanted us to free out inhibitions and let it all go. I loved it.”
It all seems like so long ago now. Strauss is working diligently on his senior project and finishing his athletic career at Bard – two seasons with the basketball team, and four with the volleyball team.
“He’s a role model,” Bard men’s volleyball coach Mike Abalos said. “I’m very happy with what he’s been able to accomplish over his four years, and he’s a great student. We will miss him in the program. All of athletics will miss him.”
Strauss never imagined that he’d end up on a rural campus along the Hudson River after growing up in Queens. His parents, Jerry and Ling, were natives of Manhattan – to the point where living in Queens almost felt like living in the suburbs.
It wasn’t until his first trip home freshman year that he realized just how special the Bard experience is.
“I still remember that first time coming back into the city – it was the longest I’d ever been away from home,” Strauss said. “My senses … the sound and smell of the subway, how noisy the city is … it was like everything was new that first time I went back. That’s another great thing about Bard being so close to home.”
Strauss’ senior project is a review of the psychological literature out there about Facebook.
“I wanted to do something that I felt – was topical – was relevant to the world around us. Facebook is a global phenomenon.”
Strauss has been involved in numerous extracurricular activities over the years, from raising money for Peruvian earthquake victims to participating with the different clubs the school has to offer. In his spare time he has found a niche being a DJ at parties on campus and off.
When the academic load increased after his sophomore year, he stopped playing basketball and has stuck with volleyball. He’s a veteran leader on a team that he says is cohesive and committed.
“The people on the team are lively and energetic,” Strauss said. “We have fun with each other. Everybody has something to offer. The atmosphere and the camaraderie are really good.”
Strauss plans to work after graduation, though he might consider graduate school in psychology or maybe business after a year or so. He definitely wants a break from academics for a while.
He has taken the time over the last couple of years to tinker with his choice of classes – he took ‘Physical Comedy’ as a junior and ‘Scene Study’ this year. Strauss appears to be savoring his final few months as a college student.
“I’m going to miss it,” he said. “A lot of people say they can’t wait to graduate. I say, when you’re in it, try to make the most of it, whether it’s Bard or any other school.”
