WATCH: Florida Tech’s Scholar-Athlete Spotlight Recognizes Baseball Player Brett Parrish
By Jerry Durney, Florida Tech // January 9, 2022
parrish pursuing a degree in ocean engineering
ABOVE VIDEO: In this Scholar-Athlete Spotlight, Florida Tech features Panther baseball player Brett Parrish, a senior outfielder who is majoring in Ocean Engineering.
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Being a scholar-athlete at Florida Tech takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to excel both in the classroom and on the field.
In this Scholar-Athlete Spotlight, we feature Panther baseball player Brett Parrish, a senior outfielder who is majoring in Ocean Engineering.
Having made the short trip from Rockledge to Melbourne, Parrish has been a fixture in the lineup since his first day in a Panther uniform, hitting .300/.382/.438 over his first three seasons at Tech.
Additionally, he has been named to the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Florida Tech Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in each of the past two years.
Growing up in Brevard County can make someone more aware than most about the current and potential future issues facing many bodies of water across the planet.
Those studying ocean engineering will be tasked with helping to fix many of these issues. We sat down with Brett to ask him about what makes him want to be a part of it.
■ What’s your major at Florida Tech and why did you choose this? Is it something that you’ve always wanted to be a part of?
I’m majoring in ocean engineering and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Growing up around here, seeing all the stuff going on in Cape Canaveral and just around the coast has always fascinated me.
■ What was it about Florida Tech that drew you here?
It’s close to home, it’s one of the few places that offers ocean engineering and I got a spot on the baseball team here.
■ How do you plan to use your degree after graduation?
I want to work in the field of coastal engineering, so getting hired by an engineering firm around here.
■ What have you learned through your classes about the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean?
I learned that it’s a really sensitive issue and a lot of the problems that we face can mostly be solved by engineering solutions, like rising sea levels and fish kills and all that kind of stuff.
■ What are some of the exciting projects that you’ve been able to work on in classes here?
Probably the most interesting we went on a cruise last summer as part of a class to Key West and we went down to the Dry Tortugas. It was just really awesome being out there.
■ So how do you manage all of it once you’re in season?
It’s all about time management and prioritizing. It’s something I’ve gotten better at the longer I’ve been doing it. School comes first and then making sure I get my time in for baseball outside of practice as well.
■ How has being a collegiate athlete prepared you for what you’re doing now and what do you take from baseball that you apply to your studies?
Probably the biggest thing is it takes time outside of the structured time block. You have to do work off the field just like you have to do work outside of the classroom to stay on top of things.
■ What advice would you give to an athlete that’s looking to come here that might get into the world of ocean engineering?
Get to know your classmates, you’re going to be real close with them a few years down the road.
■ Panther baseball finished second in the SSC last season, how confident is the team you’ll be back in the mix once again in 2022 and what goals do you have for yourself this season?
I think we’ve got a great team. Now, we have Coach Tam at the helm, I’m really excited to see how things are going to go. He’s a really good coach, I think we’re going to work hard for him. For myself, the all-conference team, maybe All-American, that’d be great!
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