Setbacks can lead to the right path

July 14, 2021

Matt Rotzeien didn’t intend to attend a community college, though in retrospect he thinks he probably should have. Matt was recruited out of Blaine High School for the baseball team at Bethel University. He stayed for a year before a pitching injury put him on the bench. When he was ready to play baseball again, he got in touch with Tom Yelle, who was the baseball coach at Anoka-Ramsey Community College at the time.

He attended the Anoka-Ramsey Coon Rapids Campus for two years, where he played baseball, completed an associate’s degree with an emphasis in business classes, and met his current girlfriend Sydney before he transferred to Hamline University to finish a four-year degree in Business Marketing.

“I knew education was important if I wanted a professional career,” Matt said about staying in higher education after his injury. “One of the benefits of college is learning how to be in a professional environment. Both college and sports promote strong work and team ethics.”

Though he’s been out of college a few years now, Matt still plays baseball recreationally with a few of his friends from Anoka-Ramsey when he isn’t writing marketing scripts, blogs, ads and animations for his full-time job with Thomson Reuters. “I had some great teachers at Anoka-Ramsey,” Matt said, reflecting on his time at the college.

“I still remember an accounting teacher who helped me a lot in a subject that was challenging for me. There was also a Rock-and-Roll History class that was really fun. Looking back, I probably should have started at Anoka-Ramsey,” Matt added. “It was more affordable, closer to home and the classes definitely prepared me for my time at Hamline and my future.”

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