Robert Schiff: From Service to Sports

Story and Photo by Ashley Moore

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Military veteran Robert Schiff is a Syracuse Broadcast and Digital Journalism Masters student who, compared to other students, took an alternative route to eventually land at Newhouse. Originally from New York City he’s traveled all around the globe before making his way back to the New York state. 

"I’ve always wanted to come here and I just felt like I’d be killing so many birds with just one stone," he said in a recent interview. "Making one decision and being able to just be happy in different ways. Being closer to family and pursuing something that I’ve always wanted to do."

Schiff is one of the oldest students in the Broadcast and Digital Journalism program, 30, and plans to use that to his advantage. "I think the experiences that I’ve gone through will help me. I don’t know if it makes me better or if I’m better prepared because of it but I’m handling this just like a rookie like everyone else is."

Raised in the Bronx, without a father, he says he managed to stay out of trouble by joining many different extracurricular activities. Instead of going to college straight after high school, he served in the US Marine Corps for 5 years.

"I went to a local recruiting office in the summer after I graduated, about a month after and signed up. Cold turkey, like literally the first day I went in there, signed up, took my test and a week later, I was at boot camp."

Following his time in military, he chose to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Film Production from Long Beach State University in California. 

After graduating and working for nearly two years, family and faith drove Robert back to the New York area in hopes to obtain a Master’s degree from his dream school to one day beat the odds and become a prestigious sports reporter.

Interview:

Q - Let’s start off with where you were born and raised?

A - I was born and raised in the Bronx. My mom was worried about the school system in the Bronx when I was 8 so she decided to move to Yonkers which is about 10 minutes away from where we originally lived. And um I spent the rest of my childhood there.

Q - Do you have any brothers and sisters?

A - I don’t, I am an only child. I enjoyed it very much growing up. There were a lot of perks to it. But I had a lot of friends so it never really felt like I was truly by myself. Um but I mean there were times that I did want a brother, ya know, a little sister to take care of but my mom was just, when she had me she had enough. So I guess that was uh enough for her.

Q - Were you raised in a single parent household?

A - Yea, I never met my father. My father left before I was born. I think I technically met him once but it was at like a courthouse. It was for a child support hearing so that was it.

Q - So would you say being raised in a single parent had a lot of, it brought a lot of strife and hard times and what not?

A - I think so. I think my mom did a lot to make it feel like it, you know, to not make me feel like I was at a disadvantage by only having one parent. You know because I was raised around a lot of kids that had two and I would question it with her and she tried to make, she tried to be both parents. You know, she tried to get me into sports. She tried to just be open about whatever uh field I wanted to travel down and she was always just supportive of any of my decisions so um it was hard but I think she tried as much as she could being in the position she was to not make me feel like it was, like I was a disadvantaged kid.

Q - What year did you graduate high school and like what did you do, extracurricular wise, while you were in high school?

A - In high school I was, uh I played basketball I played baseball. My first love was basketball. I grew up playing basketball my whole life. But I played, I only grew to be 6’1 so by the time I was in high school, for  most of my elementary school, middle school, I was a forward. But in high school, I was not tall enough to be a forward or center but didn’t have the ball handling skills to be a guard so I started to play baseball and I fell in love with it. I didn’t really play baseball when I was a kid but I fell in love with it when I was in high school and got really good, really fast. And just became almost like it superseded and became my first love and it’s been my first love ever since.

Q - What did you do right after high school when you graduated?

A- When I graduated high school I applied to 2 colleges, got into both but I wasn’t ready to pursue college yet. It was one of those things where I just needed kind of like a honeymoon phase. But that quickly turned into 5 years in the military. I went to a local recruiting office in the summer after I graduated, about a month after and signed up. Cold turkey, like literally the first day I went in there, signed up, took my test and a week later, I was at boot camp.

Q - Which branch of the military were you in?

A - I served in the Marine Corps.

Q - The Marine Corps, okay. So you were in the Marine Corps for 5 years now did you apply for Newhouse Grad School after that, or you went to go get your Bachelors after the Marine Corps?

A - I did, I spent 5 years and then after I got out, I moved to California. I had been there, I was stationed in Monterey California for a year and I just fell in love with California. I visited my friend out in L.A for a couple weeks and I told myself when I get out, I’m gonna move to California. Really no plan. Just start school in a new environment so I moved to California in 2009 and I started my Bachelor's degree at Santa Monica College for 2 years, 2 and a half years. Then I got into Long Beach State in 2012 and I spent 2 years there, I graduated in May of 2014 with a degree in film production.

Q - It’s been a couple of years from your Bachelor’s Degree to now you pursuing your Masters. What made you come to Syracuse University to get your Master’s Degree?

A - There were a few reasons, I’d say the number one reason was I wasn’t fulfilled in the career path I had chosen for myself and  when I was pursuing my bachelor's degree, I was torn between film and broadcasting because I’ve always loved sports and I wanted to be involved in something with sports. And part of it had to do with my family. My family is still here and my mom is getting older and she’d by herself. She had a couple of close friends and relatives but she has always been the most important part in my life so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’ve always wanted to come here and I just felt like I’d be killing so many birds with just one stone. Making one decision and being able to just be happy in different ways. Being closer to family and pursuing something that I’ve always wanted to do.

Q - You are one of the older students here; do you think that’s an advantage or disadvantage?

A - I think it has its advantages, I wouldn’t say I’m smarter than anybody else here or have more experience because I don’t. I mean, this is my first time experiencing you know the journalism, this field. So in that way, I don’t think I do but I think my life experiences will help me be you know, better. Just handle the situation better than I would have if I had come when I was 23 or even out of high school. I think the experiences that I’ve gone through will help me. I don’t know if it makes me better or if I’m better prepared because of it but I’m handling this just like a rookie like everyone else is. Well most people in our class, but I think it has its advantages. I think I still love life, I still enjoy life so I can, you know, hang around a lot of people and I think I vibe well with different kinds of people so it has it’s, I think mostly its positive.

Interviewer-Alright well that is it. Thank you for sitting down with me today Robert.

Robert - You got it!

Click here for the audio version of the interview.