Referred to by his teammates as “the man who does it all,” Jordan Haney, 21, may be one of the most well rounded students at Tufts University. Haney, a junior studying Economics and Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies, is a defenseman on the hockey team, singer for S-Factor (an all men’s a cappella group), and a photographer, comedian, and most importantly, a Pinterest enthusiast.
“It’s kind of a funny story how I got started in hockey, actually,” said Haney. “When I was seven my family stopped at Walmart while we were on a road trip to Florida. My dad bought the movie Mighty Ducks and I watched it in the car. After I saw it, I just really wanted to try hockey, and the rest is just history.”
Haney attended Phillips Exeter Academy, an elite boarding school in New Hampshire, where he was an active hockey player on the school team. While most hockey players join a junior league right after graduation, Haney got the undeniable opportunity to skip juniors and go straight into the realm of college hockey. “I just didn’t want to risk getting hurt and never having the chance to play college hockey,” said Haney. “I’ve seen too many friends get concussions or broken bones in their first juniors game.”
Upon graduation from Tufts, Haney’s goal is to eventually play professionally. While it’s extremely difficult to join a pro-league in the United States, Haney is thinking about experimenting with an international hockey team. “I think playing pro hockey in Europe would be so cool. I’ll play for a few years out there and then come back and probably work in real estate,” Haney said.
Haney’s second passion after hockey is singing. Influenced by Musiq Soulchild, Haney’s favorite R&B artist, Haney has loved music his whole life. “I always loved singing in church growing up and I think music is a very powerful thing that brings people together,” he said.
Haney has been a member of S-Factor, an all men’s acappella group, since his freshman year. He said, “I like acappella because everyone’s voice is valued and it ties in that team aspect that I love from sports.” Haney is currently the social chair of S-Factor and is responsible for all of their PR around campus.
“I thought the acappella was outstanding,” said head coach Pat Norton. “I thought it would be very much a team building opportunity for us to attend the concerts.”
Attending Haney’s concerts has become a ritual among the team. One of their favorite memories was when Haney performed a freestyle rap about hockey. It really tied the two biggest parts of his life together.
“Just seeing him on stage in a different setting then in the locker room or the ice was cool. It’s a good example of your typical NESCAC athlete who’s not just just there for athletics, but is a more well rounded person” added teammate Sean Kavanaugh.
Besides acappella, Haney loves all music. “Not even lying, if you look at my playlists you’ll see everything from gospel to EDM to classic rock,” joked Haney. He claims his favorite type of music is jazz but “nothing beats classic R&B.”
He doesn’t stop there, though. Haney took up photography as a hobby during his sophomore year of college. “I wanted to get in touch with my artistic side,” said Haney. When asked what inspired him to pick up this hobby, Haney said, “it all started with black and white photography. I like how black and white photos are more about the photo, not about the colors in the photo or editing. It’s about the depth of the image and what you can take away from it.” For Haney, photography is more about the message the image portrays rather than the image itself.
Haney laughs as he tells me his secret passion is comedy. “I just want to show the world what I have in my head. I was super into Vine when it was around, but I’d be super down to make some kind of video blog with small skits and freestyle comedy.” It’s not his priority at the moment, but Haney “has some things up his sleeve” that he’s excited to try. He hopes that everyone will find him as funny as his friends tell him he is.
One other thing that Haney loves doing is finding things on Pinterest. “My Pinterest boards are mostly focused on men’s fashion. I love clothing and I draw a lot of inspiration from things I find on my Pinterest,” said Haney. “I think my Pinterest says a lot about me too. You can see the kind of clothes I like and also see my passion for real estate and the kinds of homes I want to sell in the future. It’s just very me.”
To put it all into perspective: Haney puts hockey before everything else. His hobbies go through “ebbs and flows,” but his love for hockey never changes. He’s always picking up new activities, and is currently getting into barbering. He’s been cutting his teammates’ hair and picking up tips from YouTube. “I’m always ready to try something new,” adds Haney.
“I think he’s a great kid. He competes, he’s here everyday and to be able to balance all that other stuff is outstanding,” said coach Norton.