Kenneth Sheahan, a Staten Island native and a member of the
Tobin College of Business class of 2011, is one versatile young
man. Though he spends much of his class time in a world of
numbers, charts, and schedules since he majors in accounting, he
takes every opportunity to break away to pursue other interests,
such as philosophy, filmmaking, and volleyball, and it is his hope
to one day incorporate all of his interests with his degree. Having
chosen accounting for his major, he feels that it will give him the
lateral flexibility necessary to decide exactly what he would like
to do in the future.
Kenneth is the youngest of three brothers, all of whom graduated
from St. John’s Tobin College of Business. The oldest, having
a B.S. in business management, is an officer with the New York City
Police Department. Kenneth’s second brother graduated with an
M.S. in accounting, and presently works for the Department of
Homeland Security.
Whenever he gets the chance, Kenneth volunteers to assist in the
coaching of his former volleyball team at New Dorp High School. He
finds enjoyment out of sharing his knowledge and experience of
volleyball with others so that they may become better players.
Dedicated to his favorite sport, Kenneth commutes all the way to
the Queens campus just to play on the St. John’s Men’s Volleyball
Team. He is as enthusiastic about his team’s prospects as he is
about everything else. “We’re a young team,” he notes, “and
we become more efficient with each game we play.” He also notes,
“If it was not for my love of this sport, I would not have been
able to put up with the long commute to each practice.”
“Versatile” and “flexible” are words that appear as frequent
exponents in any conversation with Kenneth. He is a realistic
young man who views his ongoing educational experience at St.
John’s as the best preparation for the many challenges that lie
ahead. He appears, almost instinctively, to recognize that the key
to success and satisfaction requires melding one’s enthusiasms with
one’s talents. He has an insatiable hunger for knowledge and
truth and it is no wonder why philosophy is one of his favorite
classes. Kenneth Sheahan had co-written a philosophical essay with
Dr. Robert Delfino entitled “Bad Timing: The Metaphysics of the
Terminator.” It appears in a book, Terminator and
Philosophy, as part of the Wiley-Blackwell Philosophy and Pop
Culture Series. This is a perfect illustration of how he uses what
he enjoys in popular culture to support the work of serious (and
for some students difficult) core courses.
One good example of how Kenneth pursues another of his
interests, such as filmmaking, is his winning entry, “A Journey to
Success,” in the sixty-second video contest, Capture the Storm,
sponsored by the Department of Student Affairs and the Office of
Marketing and Communications. The contest required all
entrants to submit one-minute videos pertaining to how a St. John’s
education would change their lives. The initial frames of
Kenneth’s entry portray him as a callow high school graduate who
enters the Staten Island Campus and towards the end emerges as a
well-dressed businessman prepared with the tools necessary for
success in the business world. In one minute, Kenneth
illustrates not only an external transformation but also his
commitment to the University’s six essential values for success:
truth, love, service, opportunity, respect, and excellence. This
creative executive in the making already appears well on the road
to his goals.