Student-Athlete Spotlight: John Bruggman

A: My earliest memory is my first-ever cross country meet. It was also my time running a 5K. I remember how bad I did at the time, and how I wanted to get better so that maybe one day I would be able to go to a sectional meet.

A: Mrs. Antonucci was one of my teachers and she has probably had the biggest impact on my life. Throughout high school, I had four or five classes with her and she was the one who really pushed me to go to college for art, as well as helping with my portfolio and helping me understand how to put myself out there as an artist.

A: After visiting campus I knew this was the right place. It's close to home, I loved the art program and I was able to continue on in my sport.

A: Aidan Van Slycke is probably the teammate I am closest with. We lived together last year so we got to spend a lot of time together and really got to know each other and joke around a lot. We usually watch movies when we had time to, play video games together or just sit around and crack jokes all the time. Also, we run a lot together, obviously.

A: My favorite artist, Simon Bisley. He is still my favorite artist hands down and he is what I aspire to be at the end of the day. He's a guy who sits around and gets paid to draw, paint and do stuff like that, as well as getting to travel the world and meet tons of amazing people.

A: My dad gave me some of the best advice I have heard. He said, "Do what makes you happy, even if it doesn't make you the most money or it's not where your peers want you to go. Go and do you."

A: I only watch a couple sports. For football, I root for the Steelers, the Bills and the Titans. For hockey, I'm Bruins fan till the end, despite the hate I get for it, I still root for them. Finally, a runner I usually root for is Kyle Merber. He's a miler for the NJNY track club. 

A: Figure drawing has been my favorite course so far, hands down. I love drawing anatomy, people and experimenting with new mediums along the way. Also, I love the professor; him and I get along super well and we can just talk about almost anything most days I have any of his classes.

A: I have two dogs, Bella and Sadie, a cat named Trooper and a bird that we call Colonel Sanders. 

A: My most memorable vacation was probably a fishing trip we did up in Canada. As a family, we took my grandmother to my dad's old fishing spot that he used to go to with my grandfather before he passed away. One place I would love to go is England. I love the history of the cities like London and the art there as well. And my favorite artists are mostly all from there as well.

A: In ten years I hope I can say I'm a successful tattoo artist and hope to be looking to open up my own shop, as well as making shirts, prints and other things to sell in case someone doesn't want a physical tattoo, but still appreciates the art style. I also plan to keep running and to hopefully join and track club so I can still stay competitive .