More Than The Court
Since his days growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, Julien Andrew’s dream has been to play basketball on the big court. This passion led him to enroll at St. John’s University, where he is now a senior Communication Arts major with a minor in Sociology.
Julien’s path hasn’t been easy, but he has persevered through his faith in God and love for the game. He is a man with a plan. His biggest goal is to change the world; the first step in this direction is his podcast The Dive.
Why did you choose St. John’s University?
“Basketball and New York City were the two biggest reasons why I chose St. John’s. I am originally from the suburbs of Philly. St. John’s is in New York City, which provided me with a new and diverse location to explore. I was playing basketball at the time, and I was able to get connected with the team for a possible walk-on tryout.”
Are you still playing basketball?
“During my first year, I wanted to walk on, but the team wasn’t offering walk-on tryouts. Instead, I became the practice manager for the Women’s Basketball team, and I worked my way to the Men’s Basketball team.
In my sophomore year, I had a walk-on tryout, but I broke my rib, so things didn’t work out as planned. The pandemic greatly impacted my junior year and we really could not do anything.
This year, I am a manager and get to work with the team. They allow me to be more hands on, travel sometimes, and do workouts with the guys. Any way they need me to help, that’s what I do.
It is possible that I will play basketball if I attend graduate school next year at Howard University. The team has many connections, and they are really helping me out. My experience at St. John’s has been great!”
What is next for you?
“I want to go to Howard University for graduate school. I learned a lot at St. John’s through my undergraduate minor in Sociology. My major, Communication Arts, is very connections-based.
I currently have a podcast, The Dive, and my goal in life is to change the world. The basic principles of sociology that I learned help with that goal. Everything I talk about on my podcast are things that I have learned in class or on my own. I’m going to graduate school to earn a master’s degree in something that is extremely useful —and, of course, to play basketball.”
If you could do one thing to change the world, what would you do?
“That’s hard. If there was only one thing, I would change people’s relationship with religion and God. Faith is a big deal to me, and my relationship with God means everything. It hurts me to see some people’s strained relationship with God, and/or the fact that some people don’t even have one at all.
Many people don’t have this relationship, not necessarily because they don’t believe in God or the teachings of the Bible, but due to bad experiences they have had with religion or their parents. Seeing how people can be unwilling to embrace any of the teachings because of past experiences is a main reason why I want to change people’s outlook on faith and God. I value the relationship with God more than religion itself.”
Other than basketball, what has been your involvement on and/or off campus?
“Basketball takes up so much of my time, but besides that, I joined Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity. That has been one of the best experiences and has advanced my time at St. John’s. It can be lonely being a Black man on campus who lives for a greater purpose. My fraternity gave me a chance to join like-minded, Black professionals who desire to impact the world and live for a greater cause.
Being one of the few men in the fraternity has been really cool. These people have become some of my best friends; I usually see them every single day. This was one of the best things I did while at St. John’s.
I also had the opportunity to work at WSJU Radio. I don’t do it so much now, but I was able to learn a lot from it during my sophomore year until I discovered the ability to create my own podcast on my cell phone.
Off campus, I recently joined a new podcast on Blocked and it is huge; the Instagram page is called @BlackLoveFeed. The page has 266,000 followers, and the account made a random post request for a podcast creator in the New York area. I submitted my name and they said I was the perfect person for the role.
This is an experience I am truly learning from, especially when it comes to making connections, growing my own platform and following, and creating and producing content on a different level. Between basketball, my frat, and my podcasts, these have been the biggest things for me during this time.”
What is the biggest lesson you have learned?
“First, you have more time than you realize, not just in school, but in life. We often rush a lot of things, and we actually have a lot of time.
Second, utilize the things you have in life. You have many more tools than you realize, and honestly, St. John’s was cool to me. I was able to utilize a lot of the opportunities and services the school provided.
If you take all that you’re given, it’s a great school. They offer great scholarships, and in the Communication Arts department, we have great connections. My College, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, sends out internships and jobs every week to students. There are many helpful resources on campus, from the University Writing Center to your own professors. If you’re into sports, the teams are well-known in New York City, if not the entire state.”
How has your St. John’s experience been overall?
“It was fun! I had a good time, but there are some things I wish I would have done. I wish I was a little more involved. I wish I would have took more time to explore New York City and meet other students on campus. I focused most of my time on school and the gym, so I wish I would have ventured out a bit more during my four years on the Queens campus.”
