C handler Snell, ’11, was a four-year starter in baseball at Georgia College, playing shortstop. Baseball provided a wealth of experience that, later, would help guide his success in the workplace. Today, he helps support the team to show his gratitude for his life’s lessons. 

“Time management and organization were probably the biggest lessons I learned,” he said. “Baseball also taught me to be disciplined. If you're not organized, everything can feel like clutter, and almost overwhelm you to the point where you can't succeed. I learned early on that if I wasn't organized, I wasn't going to be successful on or off the field or in my career.”

He hopes the baseball team can continue to recruit and perform at a high level, eventually bringing home a National Championship. More importantly, Snell wants the program to continue to put disciplined, well-rounded professionals into the workforce that represent Georgia College everyday through their actions.

“GC’s baseball program is nationally recognized, and it’s bringing in young men from all over the country to develop them for the next stage of their life,” Snell said. “The way they perform is a reflection of GC and the community Coach Nolan Belcher is building.”

Since playing baseball, he has come to appreciate the experiences provided to him as a student-athlete.

“My favorite experience at Georgia College was during my senior year,” Snell said. “We won the regional tournament. Then, we moved on to the World Series. We lost in the semi-finals, but we had a good team that year. I learned a lot from my team members.”

He also learned the power of teamwork.

“You're one of nine people in the starting line-up,” Snell said. “You can only control what you can control during the course of the game. You depend on your teammates to be accountable for what they do during the game.” 

Snell’s favorite professor was Dr. Barbara Funke, because she worked with his baseball schedule.

“She was always easy to work with in the classroom and respected me being an athlete,” he said. “When I was away from the courses, she was good about catching me and my teammates back up on assignments.” 

Being a student-athlete taught Snell the value of discipline and commitment to baseball and his studies. His day began at 5 a.m. to make 6 a.m. workouts. Then, classes began at 8 a.m. He had to be on the baseball field at 2 p.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. After that, Snell had to fulfill his commitment to studying, ensuring his grades were sufficient enough to participate on the playing field. 

Snell is an assistant vice president at E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc., where he’s a fifth-generation owner of the company, which is 98 years old. 

“Georgia College felt like a community. I knew everybody from my coaches, to my trainers, professors, teammates and classmates,” Snell said. “Today, I try to bring a community feel to our company. I get to know employees on a personal level and understand what everybody's battling every day. I really just make sure I’m a leader they can come to and understand my door’s always open.”

The teamwork Snell learned on the ballfield benefits him in his job every day.

“Our team is our company,” he said. “It’s nothing but a bunch of small teams who want to succeed every day.”

Snell leads the estimating and sales teams comprised of 27 people.

“Working as a team is important because of what we do—we can't do it alone,” he said. “It already requires enough of us that if somebody on the team is not pulling their weight, it's felt. We all count on each other to pull the company forward.”

Since graduating, Snell has enjoyed reconnecting with Georgia College. He serves on the Alumni Board and the Scholarship Committee.

“I enjoy meeting a whole new network of alumni through the Alumni Board and Scholarship Committee,” Snell said. “I'm in year one, and so far, I've really enjoyed being back on campus.”

By serving on the Scholarship Committee, he reviews and votes on which students have the best applications.

“I hope that these funds are a way to take some of the pressure off the students,” Snell said.  “Everybody knows school is hard, especially when you throw in a financial burden on top of it. Hopefully, these funds will make an impact, not only in students’ day-to-day lives, but they might help out their parents, as well.”

Every day Snell meets professionals who have one thing in common—Georgia College. He feels now is the time to give back to the university.

“Giving back in any way I can is powerful,” Snell said. “I stepped away from campus for too long. I hope alumni understand that Georgia College is a great school to get plugged back into. Hopefully, they can feel proud of where they came from and want to immediately start getting back in as alumni of the school.”