Student-Athlete? Athlete-Student? Suffolk Student Balances Both.

In the Venn diagram of “Student-Athlete,” the crossover for Ryan Chamberlain is so complete that it would basically look like a single circle.

That’s because for this Sawyer Business School student, being recruited to play Division III soccer for Suffolk University was only part of his athletic journey in college. Indeed, Chamberlain came to Suffolk knowing he wanted to make the most of being both a student and an athlete. And the many times he was able to combine the two was, well, another one in the back of the net.

“I never came here just to play Suffolk men’s soccer,” says Chamberlain, who majored in sports marketing and minored in business analytics. “I was very much interested in a degree first, then soccer after.”

One of his many student-athlete melding moments came while working with Sawyer Business School marketing faculty on a $100,000 study examining the effect of sports-betting advertising on college students, commissioned by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. As a student researcher, Chamberlain conducted in-depth interviews with peers at Suffolk and other colleges and helped contribute qualitative data to the study.

“Having student researchers was huge,” says Chamberlain. “I think it made the results and responses far more accurate and transparent, because students were far more likely to talk and be honest with peers as opposed to a professor or a professional interviewer.”

Another opportunity Chamberlain took advantage of was signing on as an account director for Suffolk in the Hub, Suffolk’s student-run marketing agency. One of his clients was The BASE, a Boston-based nonprofit that works with urban kids to help them with sports, academics, college access, and health and wellness. Chamberlain and his team conducted market research and developed marketable insights for the client.

Chamberlain was also selected for Suffolk’s prestigious STEP internship program, which provides students with hands-on apprenticeships in information technology and other STEM fields. Working in the Business School’s X Lab—the first neuromarketing lab and course of study of its kind in Massachusetts—“Ryan demonstrated amazing analytical and critical thinking abilities,” says his supervisor, Professor Müjde Yuksel. Next fall, Chamberlain will pursue a master of science degree in sports analytics at Boston College.

As he prepares to graduate, Chamberlain says his only regret is that the clock has run down so fast. “Suffolk is a great place if you’re proactive because it gives you this ‘city mentality’ of trying to get as much out of [the experience] as you can,” he says. “There have been a few different opportunities I’ve had to walk away from because of just how much I had on my plate. I wish I had the time to go back and say yes.”