America East believes that the student-athletes represent the best and brightest of each of the conference's nine member universities . In order to recognize the contributions these student-athletes make to their classrooms, their campuses and their communities, America East will highlight a different student-athlete each month over the course of the 2008-09 school year in a "Best of U." feature.

This month's installment of "Best of U.", the second feature of the 2008-09 year, focuses on Boston University men's soccer player Jon Jonsson and was written by Samantha Newman. The Terrier men's soccer program just recently won the 2008 America East Championship this fall and competed in the second round of the NCAA Championship.

 

The two seem as though they would have to be separate people.

One stands on the soccer field, running through drills in his Boston University uniform. A midfielder from Iceland, who transferred and joined the team on a whim three years ago, he’s still the same guy who was teased jokingly by his teammates when he first arrived because he asked who was in a particular music “wideo,” since he didn’t know it was supposed to start with a “v.”

The other sits in front of an audience with his guitar and a microphone. As he strums the music he’s written himself, he sings along in perfect English, without any hint of an accent. He may be the only person in Boston daring enough to try to distract a crowd from a big screen TV showing the Celtics during the playoffs as he stops between songs to talk and joke with the audience.

As different as the two images appear, they both describe the same individual. Jon Jonsson is the combination of  student-athlete, a musician, and he still makes time for more.  During his three years at Boston University, Jonsson has also built friendships and found his rhythm in the classroom, earning a spot on the America East Academic Honor Roll as a junior and Dean’s List last semester.

And for the 23 year old, it’s not just one of those things that defines his college experience. It’s the whole atmosphere.

“Just being in college, it’s a pretty cool thing,” Jonsson said. “Being on campus and you go outside and there’s people you know on the street just walking. In Iceland I would go in my car and just drive to my destination. But being on campus, you can always be like, 'Oh, you want to grab lunch? You want to study together? Just by walking around. We’re all on the same page here.”

But it almost didn’t happen.

After spending four years studying economics at the Commercial College of Iceland, Jonsson decided to continue his education at the University of Iceland. It wasn’t the same. The interest he’d felt for the subject at his previous school just wasn’t there anymore.

At the same time, Jonsson’s friend Petur Sigurdsson had started attending Boston University. The two exchanged emails, and as they talked, Sigurdsson asked Jonsson if he wanted to transfer to BU.

Jonsson’s response--why not?

He hadn’t planned on coming to the United States for school, but the timing seemed right, and his parents encouraged the change.

“I think they thought it was just a good idea,” Jonsson said. “I just was not really feeling the University of Iceland. It was not giving me anything, and I feel like if that’s what’s going on, I didn’t want to put effort into my studies. I felt like I needed a new challenge, and they felt that too.”

So after he sent in DVDs of himself playing soccer and took the SATs, Jonsson was accepted to BU and took the five-hour plane ride the following August to join the soccer team for preseason. And he got the challenge he was looking for. He had started learning English when he was 12 years old, but it was always his hardest course in school. Suddenly he was expected to use it constantly, and he struggled at first. Classes that might have come easily in Icelandic were more difficult in English.

But that didn’t keep his personality from coming through.

“Even thought he wasn’t totally fluent yet, you could still tell he was really funny and quick-witted,” teammate Dan Schultz said. “He brings a lot of energy, and he always leads by example because he’s throwing everything out there. He’s the funniest guy on the team, and he can lift people’s spirits no matter what.”

Jonsson blended in from the start on the soccer team, and with time and effort, his school work followed suit. His English improved, and while three years ago he couldn’t have imagined writing 10-page papers in English, now it’s a common assignment. Jonsson had to learn how to balance the demands of being an athlete and a student, but he had to do it his own way.

“People will tell you it’s all about making a good schedule,” he said. “We have those athletic planners, and I keep writing in, 'Read today,’ and I never do that. It’s just about getting in the zone each time. When you go to practice you just have to be like, 'Ok, for the next two hours I’m just going to focus on this stuff. Block that other stuff out, I’m doing this now.’”

When he’s at practice or listening to a professor, he’s completely focused on what’s in front of him. But when he gets off the soccer field and out of the classroom, Jonsson can turn his attention to his passion for music. Along with his three siblings, he attended a music school from age 6 until he was 18 and began playing classical guitar when he was 8 years old. And he still plays every day. He could play for hours, but he wants to respect his roommate. Though once soccer season is over, and he has more free time, Jonsson said, “I’ll just need to give him earplugs.”

He appeared in music videos for Iceland’s MTV, performed in musicals and recorded several songs with his friend back home. But Jonsson never dreamed of becoming a professional musician until he came to school in Boston, and the positive reaction to his music inspired him. After he played his first concert at a bar last March, he was hooked by the rush of performing, but a feeling of hesitation still lingers.

“I’ve always been trying to keep my feet on the ground,” he said. “I’ve always been trying to somehow take the safe way. I’ve never taken a year off of school like, 'Hey I’m going to go travel.’ It’s always been soccer, and you have to always be there for soccer, just show up every practice. But people say that the biggest risk is not taking any risk at all, so maybe I should give it a try.”

And Jonsson has built a network that believes in him and supports him no matter what he chooses to do once he leaves Boston University.

 “He’s an extremely talented musician, and he has a future in it if he wants,” Schultz said. “He’s a natural entertainer. But that’s not just describing him on stage. That’s who he is.”