Brian O'Brien arrived at Claremont McKenna College with a simple goal: to do it all. He wanted to challenge himself in the classroom, compete at the highest level he could, and build relationships that would last long after he left campus. As a dual-sport athlete in baseball and football for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, he found a place where those ambitions could thrive, and discovered just how demanding and rewarding that path could be.
 
"Time management is a skill that every CMC student must develop in order to succeed," O'Brien said. "In many ways, playing two sports made it easier for me. When others were playing cards or riding water slides on Green Beach, I was at practice."
 
He laughs now about what he missed - spring breaks on the road with baseball, Saturday night games instead of 5C social events. But the trade-offs taught him discipline, focus, and perspective. "The FOMO was unbearable sometimes," he said. "But I wouldn't trade it."
 
Choosing CMC was the first big decision that set the tone for everything that followed. "I was being recruited by schools that were predominantly on the East Coast, but after visiting CMC, it was clear that I could get the same academic and athletic experience in sunny Southern California."
 
Finding Balance: Two Sports, One Standard
 
Competing in both football and baseball shaped O'Brien in different ways, each sport demanding a unique mindset. "Football was like preparing for a recital or exam where success was dependent upon the team's execution and preparedness, not just mine," he said. "It required life skills like leadership, mental toughness, and humility."
 
Baseball, on the other hand, was about precision and presence. "It was about honing specific skills, muscle memory, and reacting to situations without thinking," he said. "It was a team sport, but composed of individual actions, where one person could truly dominate a game."
 
The balance of those two sports mirrored the balance he sought in life: discipline and creativity, teamwork and individual accountability. That duality also showed up in the classroom, where professors challenged him to think deeply and broadly. "Professor Steve Smith (Philosophy) taught me how to grow up and think beyond what I knew and where I came from," O'Brien said. "And Professor Eyrich (Economics) pushed me to see the world through a different lens."
 
Leadership in the Classroom and Beyond
 
At CMC, the scholar-leader-athlete ideal was more than a talking point, it was a daily expectation. "Nobody at CMC was just an athlete," he said. "What set people apart was leadership."
 
That leadership took many forms. Sometimes it meant stepping up in a game. Sometimes it meant speaking up in class. And sometimes it meant knowing when to listen. "In the corporate world, just like in athletics, you find leaders of all types - quiet leaders who lead by example and natural leaders that people simply gravitate towards and want to follow," O'Brien said. "The one constant with all great leaders is authenticity. Those who try to lead because they simply want to be leaders get exposed quickly."
 
He learned that lesson on the field, but it stayed with him long after graduation. "Developing the ability to prioritize, and understanding the related trade-offs was a crucial skill that I rely on today," he said. "Life is full of options, so understanding the trade-offs of your decisions is part of the equation."
 
The CMS Community: Lifelong Connections
 
Ask O'Brien what he values most from his time at CMS, and he doesn't hesitate. "The relationships that I built with teammates, coaches, professors, and classmates during my time at CMC were lifelong and continue to this day," he said.
 
He still remembers the games that defined his athletic career: the day he pitched against Division I Princeton, ("I lasted like five innings but only gave up two runs"), his complete-game shutout against Occidental, and his first start as a freshman quarterback against Redlands ("I threw for 350 yards and we lost a close game, but it was a big welcome to college football.") 
 
But what stands out even more are the people. "The CMS community always has been and still is a phone call away from whatever you need, whether it is getting a job or helping your daughter navigate the current application process," he said. "My favorite thing about being a Stag is being part of a community that is still super tight and continues to expand."
 
That sense of connection brings him back to campus whenever he can. "As graduates, we all love to be a part of CMC and watch it grow and evolve, especially since a lot of us wouldn't get in now," he said. "It is the place that brings all of us back together, always a special weekend on the calendar." 
 
From Scholar-Leader-Athlete to Leader in Finance
 
O'Brien's experiences at CMC and CMS shaped the way he approaches his career in finance, where he's built a reputation for combining analytical rigor with strong interpersonal skills.

"There are many parallels between my experiences at CMC and my professional path after graduation, but the most relevant is the importance of being well-rounded," he said. "Over-indexing on either the quantitative or social side is career limiting and puts one in a league of many. The most successful people out there are the ones that connect the dots between the qualitative and quantitative ideas in the most disarming but confident fashion."
 
That ability to connect the dots came from years of balancing practice schedules, midterms, group projects, and game plans. "Dealing with the pressure of academics and athletics paired with the temptation of fun was the most important lesson of all - managing your time and your mental health," he said. "I am just glad that cell phones and social media weren't a thing at that time."
 
He still carries those habits with him: prioritizing what matters most, understanding trade-offs, and leading with authenticity. "Success in my student-athlete days was more about me, myself, and I," he said. "Nowadays, success is about my kids or my team."
 
Advice for the Next Generation
 
For current CMS athletes, O'Brien's advice is simple and direct. "Get uncomfortable and develop the things that you are not good at," he said. "Always gravitating towards what you are good at and comfortable with will only limit you. Do not be the person that always wants to do the math on a project. Be the speaker once in a while."
 
It's the same mindset that guided him from the Bauer reading room to the pitcher's mound to the boardroom: a willingness to embrace challenge, to lead with purpose, and to stay connected to the people and values that shaped him. 
 
O'Brien is proud of what he accomplished at CMS and grateful for the community that continues to support him. "Looking back, I am most proud of being able to do it all: play sports, have fun, learn, meet amazing people, and graduate," he said. "I felt like I left nothing on the table when I was at CMC." 
 
And that, perhaps, is the lasting legacy of a scholar-leader-athlete who set out to do it all - and did.