Living Obituary
By: Lauren Walsh
James “Jimmy” Kromkowski
If you can not find James Kromkowski, or Jimmy as his friends call him, at the library studying then he is off running somewhere. Yes, literally running. Whenever he can break away from everything else going on his life, Jimmy finds himself at the Recreational Sports Center. It doesn’t matter if the sport is football, basketball, or even softball, Jimmy is willing to join in on a game at any request. His greatest passion in life is sports and not only is his current life ruled by it, but he actually wants his future life to be fully engulfed in it too! Jimmy devotes his academic time (or anytime not playing sports) focusing on catching up with his major plus 2 minors, along with keeping up with his paid internship. As a junior in Selling and Sales Management with two minors including Organizational Leadership and Supervision and Communications, Jimmy is currently playing catch-up in order to graduate on time and finds himself with 22 credit hours! Actually, to take 22 credit hours you must get special permission from your advisor, many don’t wonder why. Outside of classes, and not to mention the sports thing, Jimmy can be found at the Exponent, Purdue University’s newspaper, where he is employed as an Advertising Sales Representative. Jimmy is a “Jack of all Trades” to say the least.
With work experience directly related to his dream of one day breaking into the sports industry Jimmy takes everything he has learned from them and applies them to his life. While working for the South Bend Silver Hawks, a minor league baseball team, and at Black Thorn Golf course, Jimmy developed a passion for hard work and the ability to manage his time wisely. Jimmy truly believes that his work experience and current paid internship have helped assure him that he is pointed in the right direction. With dreams of graduating in May of 2010, he plans to make two stops before diving into the ever-so-exciting sports industry; those stops: a trip to Portugal over Spring Break 2009 and then graduate school for sports management in August 2010. However, on the journey towards his dreams, he is focusing on some short term goals including boosting his GPA, and enjoying every minute of undergraduate school.
Why Purdue you ask? It is not even an issue, Purdue University is a tradition in the Kromkowski household and Jimmy is the 5th member to attend. Although this may make him seem like a follower, Jimmy embodies what is takes to be a true leader, both in his personal life and in the world. As a people person, he can talk to anyone, literally; this is one of the reasons why he chose communications as a minor. Although it may seem as if he barely has enough time for himself, Jimmy is devoted to his family, his girlfriend, and the well-being of others. His true essence in life: making things easier for others and enjoying every minute of it. Time flies by, but it flies by even faster when you as having fun, and that is exactly what Jimmy is doing with his life. However, at the same time, he tries to truly capture the value of what is going on around him. It seems as if you really can “have your cake and eat it too”.