Bryan Haggerty

Born and raised in eastern Connecticut, Bryan enjoyed a success in his early career as a soccer player, earning state championships in State Cup, Open Cup, and high school competition where he also earned All State honors. He then headed north for greener pastures and bigger mountains to Saint Michael's College outside of Burlington, Vermont where he earned a degree in Philosophy, Religious Studies and East Asian Studies. Bryan continued his soccer career at St. Michael's College, playing four years of Division II ball in the competitive Northeast 10 Conference. After college Bryan moved to Thailand, where he taught English and writing at Chiang Mai University. Bryan began volunteering for local NGOs (non-profits) in northern Thailand, advocating for indigenous rights and sustainable development projects for remote highland villages in the region. Bryan wrote grants and reports for these organizations, and assisted local PhD candidates with the English version of their thesis projects. It was through this work that Bryan discovered a lifelong passion – connecting with people around the world through "the beautiful game", soccer. He spent years playing in tournaments and friendly matches with a senior premier league team based out of Chiang Mai, making friends and learning about local cultures. Together with his work experience, these adventures would soon prove to be the foundation of a new career. In 2006, Bryan took his first role in the world of Outdoor Recreation Management when he was hired as a program leader for Rustic Pathways in Thailand, a leading international education and travel company. Bryan's first project with Rustic was creating "Soccer and Service", a program that brought students to the beautiful mountains of northern Thailand to engage with communities through soccer. In each location, the students worked on infrastructure service projects and stayed in local villages – a full immersion experience. After witnessing the transformative power that these types of experiences can have on both the students and the hosts, Bryan was blown away and all-in on this model of experiential education and travel. After managing programs and community relationships for two years, Bryan was named Thailand Director for Rustic Pathways as the company greatly expanded. In 2010, Bryan became the Regional Director of Southeast Asia – a role that he held until the arrival of COVID. During his time at Rustic Pathways, the organization evolved into a leading international experiential education organization across the globe. Bryan spent over a decade managing operations, hiring, risk management, and program development for Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos for Rustic Pathways. To this day, Bryan credits the evolution of his career in Outdoor Recreation Management to his passion for bringing people together through sport. Bryan now resides in Morristown, VT, exploring the northern Green Mountains by mountain bike and skis with his wife, his son, and his dog whenever possible. In founding Sports Degrees Online, Bryan's goal is to help fellow athletes find their way in the world without abandoning their passion for sport, adventure, and shared experiences. He believes that both sport and expeditionary adventure can foster powerful and important connections between people around the world. "Sport is an important part of personal development and inter-human connection as so many levels. When we are young, it teaches us how to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. As the competition broadens, sport can have a way of bringing the best out of people while helping individuals connect at both local and international level. In times like these, sport can help remind people how much we have in common with our fellow humans. It is our hope that Sports Degrees Online will help more people pursue their passion in sports, outdoor adventure, and wellness so that our children can enjoy a world that enjoys more of sport, joy, and understanding." - Bryan Haggerty