Within hours of lifting a second straight College Cup title, Stanford forward and Real Salt Lake Academy alum Corey Baird had his thoughts not on the glory of his accomplishments or the celebration to come. He wasn’t thinking about whether to remain in college or pursue his professional dreams, either.
On his mind when he got back to his hotel room in Houston, where the Cardinal outlasted Wake Forest in a penalty kick shootout, was environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and resource sustainability. Those were just a few of the topics covered in the Earth Systems 10 course he was taking at Stanford, where less than 48 hours after the final match of his junior season ended with a championship he was taking a final on Tuesday.