Road to Commencement: Bryce Barrouk

Man with arm up throwing basketball into net
Credit: Penn State

Name: Bryce Barrouk

Major: Business

Graduation Date: May 6, 2023

MEDIA, Pa. — As Bryce Barrouk prepared for commencement on May 6, he reflected on his time as a student at Penn State Brandywine and the unique experiences he had.

“I chose to attend Brandywine because I wanted to stay close while still having the opportunity to pursue sports in college,” Barrouk said. “I also figured that having a degree from Penn State was better than some of the other Division III schools around here. I liked the campus as well.”

During his time at Brandywine, Barrouk played on the men’s basketball and baseball teams. Being on both teams allowed him to grow as a leader.

“Becoming a captain in athletics has definitely allowed me to grow my leadership skills,” he said. “Playing on Brandywine’s basketball and baseball teams also created a brotherhood for me. It gave me a really good group of friends — they’re like family.”

Barrouk said one of his greatest accomplishments during his time at Brandywine was scoring 1,000 points in his basketball tenure.

“Scoring 1,000 points has been a personal goal of mine since I started college,” he said. “I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to make it to 1,000 points in high school, so I was determined to meet my goal in college.”

Barrouk was voted United States Collegiate Athletic Association’s (USCAA) National Player of the Year in men’s basketball in the 2022-23 season, becoming only the third Brandywine student-athlete to earn the title.

“Becoming USCAA National Player of the Year was definitely another one of my greatest accomplishments throughout college,” he said.

When reflecting on his favorite memory from his time at Brandywine, making it to the conference championship in basketball came to mind.

“My favorite memory was definitely making it to the conference championship last year and getting to play up at University Park,” Barrouk said. “We were going into the playoffs as the underdogs, and we beat teams that we weren’t supposed to beat in their gym. It was a really exciting experience to go up to University Park and play basketball on their court, too. It was my first time going up there.”

After graduating in May, Barrouk will head to Penn State Great Valley to complete his master’s degree in business administration. As he is already taking courses toward his master’s degree, he is projected to graduate from Great Valley in May 2024.

Being a student-athlete, one of Barrouk’s most valuable lessons he’s learned while at Brandywine was to use its resources to help him with his academics.

“During my first year, I struggled with my coursework, and my GPA was at its lowest,” he recalled. “Getting a tutor at the Academic Success Center helped me raise my GPA a lot higher — if I keep up the good work, I’ll actually end up graduating on the dean’s list. Tutoring helped me stay on top of my schoolwork and balance my academics with my busy athletic schedule.”

When advising future Brandywine students, Barrouk said to take advantage of all the resources necessary for them to succeed.

“Stay on top of your game, and make sure you take advantage of all the resources necessary, like the library, your advisers, counseling, whatever you need to stay one step ahead,” he said. “It’s always better to be one step ahead than falling behind. Stick with that process and it’ll all work out in the end.”