Michael Gutu: Student, Athlete, Employee
It is difficult being a college student and even more challenging to be a student and an athlete. But imagine being a student, athlete, and an employee. That’s what Bluefield University student, athlete and employee Michael Hanniel Gutu is doing, and doing all three very well.
Gutu came to Bluefield University in the spring of 2017 from Harare, Zimbabwe. He left his home and traveled so far to pursue his dream of playing tennis.
“It has always been my dream to continue my education while following my tennis career,” said Gutu, who also played men’s soccer for BU. In his first year of tennis, he was named Freshman of the Year and to the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) All-Freshmen team.
In addition to pursuing his passion for tennis, Gutu came to BU to study business administration with concentrations in management and information technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2020 and is now pursuing his master’s degree in business leadership. And while he has enjoyed success in the athletic arena, he has also experienced success in the classroom as evidenced by being named to the Academic Dean’s list every year during his time at BU.
“He is one of the hardest workers I know,” said tennis teammate Jared Hoch about Gutu’s effort in his sport and in the classroom.
Gutu took a year off from tennis after earning his bachelor’s degree, but returned for the 2022-2023 season to make the best of his last year of eligibility by being named to the AAC All-Conference First Team.
“It was great just being able to use my last year of eligibility,” Gutu said. “It was definitely difficult at first since I had not been active for a year after graduating as an undergrad. I had to find my way back on the grind of being physically fit and for my body to adapt back on a schedule of practice and competitions.”
And if two sports and two degrees weren’t enough, Gutu is now working as a data analyst for BU while finishing his master’s degree.
“In short, I would say my work consists of retrieving school data from different sources, analyzing and cleaning that data, and finally presenting that data through reports and visualization,” Gutu said about the work he does for BU.
He added that balancing all three — student, athlete and work — is not easy and requires a lot of commitment and sacrifice.
“It requires a lot of time management as well as mental toughness,” Gutu said. “I feel like I always have something to do because there is so much on my plate from school assignments, tennis and soccer to my day-to-day work and finding time for myself. The only thing that keeps me going is just the zeal to strive for excellence in everything I do, which also means making sacrifices and going that extra mile.”
Before his work as a data analyst, Gutu served BU as an assistant manager of the Campus Store, and while an undergraduate student he served as a resident assistant (RA).
“Working with Michael is great,” said former co-worker Kelley Lambert. “He is an amazing person to be around and a hard worker.”
Gutu feels the same love for Bluefield University and its people.
“I have made a lot of friends, and some of the people I met at BU have become more like family to me,” Gutu said. “I also think the memories I have made here have been special, and that is something I will live with forever and one day will look back and cherish those memories.”