FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Freshman swimmer Brian Burke took a unique path to Fairfield University, but it was all part of growing up in a military family.
Burke spent 12 years living at the Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily, Italy where his father worked in the Navy. Originally born in Coronado, California he and his family moved to Italy at a young age.
“My family is very into service jobs. My mom's dad was a U.S. Engineer in the Navy, my dad's dad was a Marine, and my older brother is an Army Ranger in Georgia,” said Burke. “My dad is a Combat Search and Rescue Swimmer for the Navy so I guess that's where I get my drive for swimming.”
Swimming wasn't always his favorite sport and says up until high school soccer was his favorite. “It was during the Swim World Championships in Rome, I think in 2008 or 2009 when I really started getting into swimming. That was the summer before high school and after that my dad pushed me in an encouraging way towards swimming,” explained Burke.
The freshman began swimming during the summers in middle school, but high school was when he started to swim competitively. “When I first started swimming I swam all different events, my coach pushed the whole team to swim different events because we were at such a young age.” Although swimming multiple events, he found immediate success at the sprint events, which are his main events at the college level. “At my very first championships I won the 50 Free and 50 Fly.”
His stay in Italy lasted much longer than most military families and he now realizes how special that experience was. “My family stayed in Italy for so long, which was very unique. Most families only spend two or three years in Italy and then move on. I think at times I took the cultural experience for granted and I realized that in Florida.”
Swimming and competing for a high school on a military base is much different than a normal high school in the U.S. “We competed all over Europe for swimming. The team would fly on weekends to Naples or Germany to swim against other military bases in Europe. It's probably easier for me to name the countries that I haven't been to than to name the ones I have visited, that's how much I was able to travel.”
His senior year of high school was spent at St. John's in Jacksonville, Florida. “My mom got a teaching job in Florida and I got a scholarship and the opportunity was too good to pass up,” he said. While in Florida, Burke only swam on a club team and not for his high school which he thinks hurt his recruiting. But it was his club team coach that connected him to Fairfield. “My club coach knew Janelle and that's how we were connected. So I took a trip to Fairfield in the spring and loved the coach and her coaching philosophies. Janelle has a very impressive resume and I chose Fairfield because I instantly had a strong connection with Janelle.”
Here at Fairfield, Burke is majoring in Nursing. When asked about a future in the military he responded by saying he hasn't ruled it out, but he's just going to make his way through college and enjoy himself.
In the pool, Burke made a tremendous impact in just his rookie season. He was part of two program records, swimming in the 200 medley and 400 medley relays at the 2016 MAAC Championships. His name also appears fifth on the program's all-time Top 10 list in the 50 Freestyle event and ninth in the 100 Breaststroke. With three more years as a Stag there is no telling what else he has in store for the program.
