Samrath Singh ’22 grew up in New Jersey in a loving family, starred at sports, excelled in school, and even learned to play the viola. He was also raised as an observant Sikh, which is why Boston College struck his parents as an odd fit when it came time for their son, by then a standout baseball player and student, to decide on a university.
In June 2017, Singh and his parents made the drive to Chestnut Hill to learn about BC, which had been heavily recruiting the tall lefthanded pitcher. After touring the campus and the athletic facilities, they found themselves sitting in the office of baseball head coach Mike Gambino. Singh’s parents by then were comfortable with the academic opportunities that BC offered, but there was something else they wanted to know: Could their son, who in keeping with his faith wears a turban and a beard and does not cut his hair, truly feel at home in a Jesuit Catholic institution?