Impact of a Scholarship: Conrad Bolston

It didn’t take long for Conrad Bolston to realize that football, above all else, was the sport for him; he instantly fell in love with University of Maryland and wouldn’t trade his time as a student-athlete for anything in the world.

Bolston was born in D.C. and grew up in Burtonsville, Maryland, with his mom and two younger brothers. He was always involved with sports, but from a young age, he played baseball most consistently.

After being recruited to St. John’s College High School for baseball, his interests took an unexpected turn. Head Football Coach, John Ricca, invited Bolston to try out St. John’s football camp, and eventually try out for the team. 

“It didn’t take long for me to figure out I was better at football than I was at baseball, so that was kind of my new sport as a freshman going forward,” Bolston says.

After a few successful years playing football at St. John’s, the recruiting process was in full swing for Bolston. He was soon introduced to Maryland’s then-assistant coach -- Michael Locksley.

Among several other coaching staff, Coach Locksley played a large role in Bolston’s road to becoming a Terp. “The players were also a big part of why I ended up there; they sometimes are your best recruiters,” Bolston mentions.

He specifically recalls his pre-visit to the university where he attended the Duke vs. Maryland basketball game at Cole Field House. “It was hot, sweaty and noisy, filled with wooden seats which almost felt as if I was attending a 1965 game, and I loved it,” Bolston says.

At the time of his visit, Maryland Footballwas competing for the top ranking in the ACC. With all things considered, Maryland’s atmosphere outdid all of the other schools Bolston was considering. “It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the school, so I just committed to Maryland without much thought after my experience visiting.”

Bolston cherishes the beauty of the campus and will never forget all the walking and the hills he encountered going from class to practice. He also appreciates the tight-knit athletic community. “You end up meeting athletes from all different sports, and I got to attend a lot of their games.”

The Terp alum also has fond memories from all the rival games, a few being University of Virginia football and Duke basketball.

Bolston took on an environmental science and policy major at Maryland. He often found it difficult to balance the more challenging math and science courses with football. “Being a college athlete is like working a job that requires a lot of manual labor; balancing that with school, traveling, and getting an education was tough at times, but it’s worthwhile,” Bolston acknowledges.

As he transitioned from college to professional football, Conrad had to learn how to adapt from being one of the most talented athletes to even bigger competition in the NFL. “You get whiplash from that transition. You were the big fish, and now you’re the little fish,” Bolston remembers. He made a great effort to play consistently, stay healthy, and show growth, but it was a challenging process, to say the least.

One of his toughest moments took place during his first experience in the NFL as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. “I was centered on Kevin and Pat Williams, who are just freakish people in the NFL. It’s unfair how athletically gifted and smart they are, and I kind of just told myself that ‘I could never be them’.”

Seeing committed players up close like the Williams brothers left Bolston feeling slightly intimidated, but he used this as motivation to find his role in the NFL and work as hard as he could.

His favorite memory is his first play in the NFL while playing for the Vikings. They were playing the Kansas City Chiefs and he had been called up from the practice squad and was getting his chance to play an active role on the team.

“I get in, look across the line and Pat Williams tells me to switch him. Before I knew it, I’m up against an All-Pro guard; I almost got launched by him,” Bolston recalls. “I think that was my entire game; one good play and one bad play, then right back on the bench.”

That was all Bolston needed to get him inspired and imagine what was to come during his time in the Pros. “I said to myself, maybe I can make it here. Maybe I can play.”

In 2008, while playing with the Green Bay Packers, it came to Bolston’s knowledge that his assumed back injury was instead a form of spinal cancer in the spinal cord. “After having surgery, radiation therapy, and losing sensation from the chest down, I knew my football career had to come to an end, and it was time to focus on academics,” Bolston concluded.

While in radiation therapy, Bolston attempted to figure out his next steps after going back to graduate. With help from his career counselor, Wendy Whittemore, he was able to find himself and his desired career path.

In between therapy and making his way back to school, he acknowledged his interest in law and took on the LSAT. “I think law school presented an option that I hadn’t thought of before, so I wanted to explore it,” Bolston mentions. 

After returning to the University of Maryland and finishing out his course requirements, he took the exam and graduated with an acceptance from Georgetown Law School.

Currently, Bolston is a Senior Associate at V&E. His practice focuses on environmental enforcement and litigation, compliance counseling, and white-collar defense. He works closely with clients to help develop and implement environmental compliance programs and policies that address environmental and energy justice considerations.

He also enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, ages 5 and 7.

Bolston attributes much of his current success to his experience as a Maryland student-athlete on a scholarship. “Not having undergrad debt on top of postgraduate debt was a big deal. I don’t think I would have been able to get a law degree if I hadn’t been on a scholarship.”

The Terp’s scholarship also changed the trajectory of his whole academic and professional career through the connections he was able to make as a student-athlete. “It’s crazy to think that I may not be at Georgetown, I may not be at this firm, without my Maryland Football scholarship,” Bolston says.

In terms of advice, Bolston recommends meeting as many people as you can. “There’s so much to explore at University of Maryland in terms of meeting people and interacting with [Terrapin Club] donors, fans, and those outside of your football bubble.” He advises to take advantage of the extracurricular opportunities and all there is to offer at the university. 

Bolston and his former teammates have continued to stay connected. They are all beginning to reinvolve themselves with the university and give back to the school that provided them with so much.

“I can’t think of a better way to have a direct impact on someone’s life than to donate and have that go towards a program dedicated to uplifting young men and women into places that they otherwise might not have gotten to without your money and time.”