By Nathan Blythe
Dan Veenstra, a senior offensive lineman for the Golden Knights, has been a football player for most of his life. After coming to UCF, academics have become just as important to him as the game that he loves.
In early August, Veenstra graduated from UCF with a degree in management.
"It felt great walking across the stage," said Veenstra. "I excelled here in college, graduating with honors and having chords."
Last year, Veenstra was named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year by UCF Academic Services and also earned a spot on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.
"I did not see it coming," said Veenstra. "I was caught off guard when I was honored by UCF."
Veenstra often surprises his teammates with his knowledge. His fellow Golden Knights say that they do not consider him to be book smart, but are impressed by his familiarity on a variety of subjects.
"Dan is a smart guy. He knows some real random stuff," said UCF senior center Cedric Gagne-Marcoux. "Dan seems to have the ability to just read a textbook for five minutes and immediately get it."
Out of the 105 players on the roster for the Golden Knights, three are working towards their master's degree: Gagne-Marcoux, senior defensive end Kareem Reid and Veenstra.
Veenstra is a reserve who is second on the depth chart behind tackle Josh Sitton. He appeared in five games at year ago, marking one start.
The members of the line have developed a close family-oriented relationship through a familiarity with one another. The linemen have been able to gel together over the years, coming into the season with 93 combined career starts, the most in the nation.
"We know how each of us plays and we know what to expect from one another, so we have to keep pushing ourselves everyday and not get complacent where we are," said Veenstra. "Hopefully, we get better every week, since we are always trying to improve and help the team."
Every meal, this family is together enjoying one of the things they love to do: eating. Whether it is going to their favorite restaurant, Moe's Southwest Grille, or having Veenstra cook chicken and rice in his room, they are always together, creating unity.
When the linemen go out to eat, their server gives them an odd look, when taking their orders, since each player often eats more than a single-serving.
"We don't want to be too heavy, but we definitely like to eat," said Veenstra. "We try not to gain too much weight, but since we are allowed to be heavier, we like to take advantage of that."
UCF head coach George O'Leary is known as a disciplinarian who stresses time management in everything that his players do. Through this approach, Veenstra has learned a valuable component of time management that enables him to have success in academics as well on the field.
Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert is the driving force for Veenstra at practice, who pushes and encourages the Largo, Fla. native to take the next step at practice and in the real world as well.
Veenstra has learned through his time at UCF that football does not last forever and an education will be the key for him after college.
"Football has taken me far in life, but education is going to take me where I want to go," said Veenstra, "That is why I want to make sure that I get my master's degree."
On the field, communication between the linemen is important to understanding blocking schemes. Being able to communicate in business circumstances intrigues Veenstra and he found that UCF's master's program in management fit him the best.
A fifth year senior, Veenstra knows that he needs to be a leader to the team's incoming freshmen, showing that academics are just as important as football. They are able to see that Veenstra has already graduated and is working towards a master's degree and works hard on the field everyday doing what is asked of him by his coaches.
"Some of the younger guys struggle with time management skills, but I have been in the program for five years, so I am used to it," said Veenstra. "I know how to plan my time and if any of the younger players have problems, I can always help them out with some strategies on how to manage their time."
After the football season, Veenstra will still have one more year to earn his master's degree, which he intends to finish and then find a job that suits him well. Veenstra has been able to tackle the challenge of playing football and excelling in the classroom. He has set an academic example that will be followed by more UCF players, so they can have success in life after football.