This is part of #EberlyDoesSports, a series from the IUP Eberly College of Business and Information Technology that focuses on business majors who play team sports, club sports, or are involved in sports at a community or individual level.
This week we feature Pennsylvania native, William Gebhart. "Geb" was born and raised in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, a small town about 50 miles outside of Indiana. He was first introduced to rugby during his sophomore year here at IUP when a few friends of his convinced him to give it a shot; he has loved the game ever since.
Rugby is not commonly played here in western Pennsylvania or in many parts of America. The community behind it is much smaller than other more mainstream sports such as basketball, football or baseball, but the passion for the game is as strong as any. Many of the players across the region run across each other during various seasons, tournaments, events, and some even play for some of the same 7's teams (a smaller team that generally participates in tournament play during the off season). Not only did Geb fall in love with the sport, he quickly began to excel. His teammates took notice of Geb's outstanding performance and leadership, naming him a team captain after playing the sport for only two years.
William is currently enrolled in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management program and plans to one day operate his very own construction company. He has always known about IUP since and heard nothing but good about the Eberly College of Business. With the plan of owning his own company, the small business management program was a perfect fit for him. Thus far Eberly has yet to disappoint, "I've enjoyed all of the classes I've taken at Eberly. I've always had a lot of good professors who explain the section they are teaching well and who care about their students."
Through his experience as a team captain and the management knowledge gained in Eberly, William is prepared to enter the real world with confidence. His skill sets have been sharpened over the course of his IUP career, giving him the tools necessary for launching his very own company in the near future.
"Just ball out and the money will come"-William Gebhart
-Written by Tyler Vicari
About #EberlyDoesSports
The #EberlyDoesSports series focuses on business majors who play team sports, club sports, or are involved in sports at a community or individual level.
Associate Dean Cyndy Strittmatter is overseeing the project. "We are proud of our students who balance their academics with extracurricular activities and recognize the commitment that it takes to excel at all levels. We look forward to sharing their accomplishments with the IUP community and beyond! While this series focuses on athletes, there will be other special series that recognize the broad range of interests and activities of our business students," said Strittmatter.