Business/Spanish Double-Major Finds Baseball, Ministry, and More at BVU
Joe Rock kept his faith at the forefront during his time at BVU. From an early injury in his baseball career to securing an American Rivers Conference Tournament title, he continued to inspire others, all while excelling academically.
Joe Rock is on his way to the baseball diamond in Peterson when he takes a call for an interview about his time as a student-athlete at Buena Vista University.
Covering all his experiences could take up the time span of a double-header, no doubt.
“I loved the experiences and relationships I had at BVU,” says Rock, an understated senior who majors in business and Spanish. “Everything I had at BVU, from baseball to ministry to academics, it was all so positive.”
The Mahtomedi (Minn.) High School graduate says generous scholarship opportunities and the chance to play baseball attracted him to Buena Vista University. So, too, did the chance to be closer to his paternal grandparents, who operate the family farm near Peterson.
“I am so grateful to be part of a baseball team like this and represent our university on a national level.”
Joe Rock
Rock, though, found more than baseball to his liking on campus in Storm Lake. He traveled to Phoenix as a freshman and saw up-close how big-league sports franchises work. He spent another internship period in Spain, immersing himself in the culture and the language. A third internship would ensue at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis, where Rock, a senior to-be at the time, dove into wholesale banking and corporate trusts while servicing investors and bond holders.
He wasn’t done. A fourth internship found him at the Tyson turkey facility in Storm Lake last fall, working in human resources and honing his Spanish skills on a few occasions as an interpreter.
All the while he kept bringing others into the reach of BVU’s campus ministry efforts. And, he worked to regain a confidence on the baseball diamond that was lost after a tough injury early in his career as a Beaver.
At one point in the spring of 2019, Rock was ready to give up on baseball. He prayed during the Beavers’ spring break trip. In time, his left-handed hitting stroke found its groove. He would end up hitting No. 2 in the order, a mainstay for a team that won 14 of 15 games late in the season, eventually clinching the American Rivers Conference Tournament title and securing a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
“I am so grateful to be part of a baseball team like this and represent our university on a national level,” he says.
And while his senior season didn’t pan out the way anyone wished it would (due to COVID-19), Rock has fond memories of a league tourney championship and a championship ring.
He hopes to continue playing this summer as his day-job takes him to Minneapolis-St. Paul and back to a state serious about its amateur baseball.
To that end, arrives at the diamond in Peterson on a sunny Saturday in April, intent on working out with his brothers in a quest to keep arm, bat, and frame of mind ready for a first pitch that one day will come again.