Kent State Of Mind: Jack Curtis
4/9/2026 12:46:00 PM | Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
Kent State men's track and field junior Jack Curtis joined Andrea Filote for the Kent State of Mind Series to discuss his journey to Kent State and the real-world experience he is getting to be prepared for life after sports.
Read the Interview
AF: Hey. Flash Family, I'm Andrea Filote, and joining me on Kent State of Mind is Jack Curtis.
AF: You started off your college career at John Carroll University, and now you transferred to Kent State. What led to that decision to come here?
JC: I'd chose John Carroll out of high school. I really liked the coach there and the team. I ran against those guys all throughout high school. So I think I thought that joining them would be a really good step in college and running together. Ultimately leaving there, my coach ended up getting a new job at Yale. So I decided to see what other opportunities were available for me. When I was in the portal, I ended up reaching out to Kent State, and obviously I ended up here, so it went pretty good. The team, as it was at the time, was super attractive to me, and once I met the team of guys, I felt really welcomed already. Just the first time I met them. I knew that it was somewhere that I wanted to be a part of.
AF: New environments are really intimidating. You know, you're stepping up from Division II to Division I, and you're coming on to a new team, new coach, new environment. What gave you the confidence to walk into this team?
JC: Yeah, it definitely was tricky. That was for sure. The Athletics at least was a lot more rigorous when I got here. I mean, we were practicing 20 hours a week. Almost four hours a day. But we also had hour lifts and things like that. So kind of navigating a new schedule as well as moving too that was difficult. The team helped me a lot. I grew very close with a lot of the guys that ended up graduating, and still some of them here. So I made it a little bit easier to show up every day and the new opportunity here at Kent State. It helped me, focus on what I wanted to be a little bit more. I'm not a big classroom guy. I tend to learn a lot of things in the real world and actually doing that. So here you can see the kind of gave me the opportunity to be able to, well, still take athletics very serious, to go ahead and still keep doing all the other things that I was. You know, being a cross-country runner, distance runner, you have to meet your mileage every week.
AF: You know, you said you have to go to lift. You do your online classes, but I know you have a really busy life outside of track. Do you want to talk a little bit about the career you're pursuing and all the side quests that you're doing now?
JC: Definitely a lot of side quests right now. Just trying to figure out what I want to do once I leave here, because I know that this isn't going to last forever. So I was, intern on the concierge's unit at Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office for about two years. My last day was actually yesterday, so that concluded. But then now I'm taking on two new roles, one being a clerk at North Royalton Police Department, which I've already learned so much there. And then also an intern here at Kent State Police Department. So my days are definitely busy, but I enjoy what I'm doing, and I'm just really trying to figure out what kind of law enforcement career I want to go into.
AF: So full-time student-athlete working two jobs, basically. What does a busy day in your life look like from morning to evening?
JC: Usually, I wake up around six and be at the station by seven. Once I'm at the station, I usually work until I have practice or something else going on, so usually I'll go straight from there to practice. Practice for about 2 to 3 hours. Then I also go to lift. So lift is another hour. Then usually I try and go home, do as little or much schoolwork as I can, and then just try and reset for the next day.
AF: How do you reset or recharge?
JC: Usually I'll text or call my dad and see how his day went. We'll talk about our days. And he's very, very supportive of what I'm doing. And, whether it be athletics or being at the police stations or the prosecutor's office, he's always asking me how it's going. So he's very, very supportive and he kind of keeps me grounded too, to make sure I'm not doing too much. What I'm doing is what I love to do. And since I enjoy it so much, I don't necessarily feel this super hard burden on jumping one thing to the other. \
AF: That's really important too.
JC: Yeah, for sure. And I like being able to show up every day, like whether it be to the station or the office or practice. I just like I really love what I'm doing and that's why I chose to do it here.
AF: It looks like your academics and your real-world experience really go hand in hand. How are these preparing you for the next steps in your future?
JC: My major is in criminology and criminal justice. And then I also just got into the master's program here at Kent State, which is criminology and criminal justice with a concentration in global security. Everything that I learned in the classroom can directly go into what I'm doing, in any of my internships or jobs.
AF: Where does your interest in criminology stem from?
JC: Both of my parents, they were in the FBI. Obviously growing up, I always had an interest in what they were doing on a day-to-day basis. Like I mentioned earlier, my dad is probably my biggest supporter, and I truly love the man that he is. So my ability to be able to do something that he does after I saw how many people that he helped. That really is something that I almost feel called to do.
AF: If somebody were to ask you for advice about, you know, maybe changing a career path or taking a risk or just changing a setting in their life, what would you say to them? What advice would you give them?
JC: I'd definitely say to take those risks. I feel like if you don't take any risks, you will never know what could come of it. Some of the risks I've taken, whether it be transferring from John Carroll or taking on a new job when I'm busy. or even every day of practice, you know, going that extra rep or going that extra mile, it kind of it kind of has made me wonder, like what I'm able to do no matter what. Go ahead and take those risks because you never really know what can happen. And a door can really open for you for your future.
AF: Well, thank you for joining us today, Jack, on Kent State of Mind.
JC: Of course, Go Flashes!
Players Mentioned
