What do working on a farm, studying financial analytics and playing rugby all have in common?

George Bocock.

He’s found transferable skills in all aspects of these activities as he prepares to graduate this month alongside nearly 3,000 students at Brock University’s first Virtual Convocation. Bocock is graduating with a Bachelor of Business Economics, a unique program in Canada with an emphasis on quantitative, communication and analytical skills.

Earlier this year, Bocock received the R.M. Davis Surgite Award for his excellence in both the classroom and competing for the Brock men’s rugby team.

A 6-foot-1, 260-pound prop, Bocock made an impact during his final season with the Badgers as he manned the front row of the scrum. He played a key role in turning around a rugby program that managed only one win in 2018 to wining an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) bronze medal and a fifth-place finish at nationals.

“George brought tremendous leadership and presence to the team,” said former Head Coach Phil Sullivan. “The one thing that stood out for me about him was how much he continued to develop as a player. Physically, skills and leadership: he developed and matured more over his years at Brock than any other athlete I’ve known.”

The Badgers’ undeniable leader was the natural pick to individually hand out medals to his teammates following Brock’s decisive comeback win over Trent in the OUA bronze-medal match.

Winning an OUA medal and the Surgite award was confirmation of how his parents raised him, said Bocock, which was to always be genuine in your efforts toward everything that you do.

“Winning the R.M. Davis Surgite Award was an honour, but also a bit of a surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting to be in contention, let alone win the award. It means a lot to me to have been awarded it. My brothers and I were encouraged to do our best at everything we attempted, whether it be athletics or academics.”

His teammates weren’t surprised to see their captain win this award.

“George is one of the toughest and smartest people I’ve ever met,” said teammate Zach Zorbas. “As a captain, he expects nothing less than your best effort and garners your respect through his work ethic and the fact that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. He’s one of the best scrummers I’ve ever played with and always seems to come up with a big play when you need one.”

As an example of a big play, Zorbas pointed to Bocock’s goal-line steal which sealed an upset victory over the higher-ranked Guelph Gryphons at nationals; however, his favourite story after competing alongside Bocock for five seasons is when they first met.

“On the first day of training camp, George came in as a rookie and squatted more in warmups than anyone else on the team’s max lift,” said Zorbas. “I’m lucky to call him a teammate and one of my best friends.”

Bocock’s work ethic naturally flourished in the Brock Sports Performance Centre, where it was common to see him routinely benching or squatting more than five plates.

“George is probably the strongest athlete I have worked with at Brock thus far,” said Brock Sports Performance Coach Dave McDowell. “Whenever he was learning a new lift in the gym, he would come in during open hours and do lots of extra sessions until he got better at the lift. He has a great work ethic and is very successful at just about everything he does.”

McDowell recalled a story when Bocock completed his Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and played a game in the same day.

“Before one of our games this season, he showed up just before warm-ups and was a little late because he had just written, and obviously done really well, on his LSAT test,” said McDowell. “I had to hunt down some food for him since he didn’t have a chance to eat before the game. He gets half of his warm-up in and has an awesome game. That’s George.”

A quick study, Bocock didn’t pick up the sport of rugby until Grade 11 at Immaculata High School in Ottawa.

After graduating, he moved to Brantford, where his friend’s family owned a tobacco and ginseng farm. Bocock spent his days working on the farm while studying at Brock, suiting up for the Badgers men’s rugby team and even playing for the local club, the Brantford Harlequins.

“I enjoy working on the farm, as labour intensive as it is,” he said. “The work gets me outside and gives me some mechanical skills.”

So what’s next for the versatile student-athlete?

“I’m attending law school next year,” he said. “I still plan to play rugby locally with Brantford, but I’m going to miss my teammates. I want to thank them, Phil Sullivan, the Brock Sports Performance and Brock Sports Medicine staff, specifically Dave McDowell and Kelsey Marshall. All of them made my Brock experience unforgettable.”