Blake Janowicz

Pronouns: He/Him 

Major: Electrical & Computer Engineering

Year: Graduate Student

Hometown: Anaheim Hills, CA

Sonoma State Baseball, Athletes InterVarsity, Electrical Engineering (EE) Club

My favorite memory or experience at SSU is being with my baseball teammates on a playoff run two years ago. We had a slow start to the season, but pulled for and supported each other the rest of the season. I have never experienced such closeness, camaraderie, and desire for the same goal on any other team I’ve been part of. I think it really spoke to the environment our coaching staff and SSU create in general, to love each other unconditionally and fight to win. The 2022 SSU Baseball team was full of absolute dogs.

The most challenging part of my college experience was definitely the first semester of my freshman year. I came from what felt like a “bubble” in Orange County, where I grew up with the same people and went to a private high school. At SSU I was faced with new people who believed and acted in different ways than I was used to. It felt like my bubble popped. Then, I found a community in the second semester with a few guys on my baseball team and realized that I do have a community here that I can rely on and use as my rock and support. I learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable and how to communicate with people who may have differing opinions than I do by creating a mindset that SSU teaches – to love and understand one another.

I wanted to play baseball in college while becoming an engineer. My head coach in high school played for and coached with SSU’s Head Baseball Coach John Goelz, so that was my in. I was motivated to stay because of the baseball team, coaching staff, campus, Engineering Department, and the University in general. Especially after COVID, when things were uncertain, the thought never crossed my mind of transferring. I immediately cared for SSU, recognized it as my college, and knew that SSU was for me. The people, teammates, classmates, and faculty all have a deep desire to learn and grow that resonated with me. The care for one another as human beings was magnetic. I had no reason to leave and every reason to stay.

I could name 100 people. A few are Engineering professors and faculty: Farid Farahmand, Sudhir Shrestha, Mohamed Salem, Nansong Wu, Shahram Marivani, Sara Kassis. The EE faculty and staff go above and beyond for their students in regards to quality of education. They run one of the greatest engineering departments in the world with their care for students and teaching them to become great engineers who have a desire to support society. 

Coaches: John Goelz, Gregg Adams, Dolf Hes, Greg Budgell, Zach Pace, Michael Nackord, and more. These coaches mean so much to us players. Their support for this program goes above and beyond any other program in the nation. Their desire to use their time to make us better men and better ballplayers is something I desire to embody as a role model. 

My teammates: David Newman, Michael Benz, Nick Roth, Ross Goldschlag, Rob Towne, Sir Gomez, and more. These are guys that I look up to. Their knowledge and support have guided me into my fifth year at SSU. I couldn’t imagine the man I’d be, the baseball player I’d be, without their knowledge and support. I love every single one of these people unconditionally and care for them deeply. They have truly guided my experience the last four years and into the next two of grad school. There is no other place that could’ve brought this time, treasure, and talent together.