Rouhana came to Boston from Lebanon 40 years knowing nothing about the sport. Now he’s the director of baseball operations.
Growing up in Lebanon, Omar Rouhana only saw baseball portrayed in cartoons on TV.
It wasn’t until he came to Boston in 1983 to study mechanical engineering at Northeastern University did he realize it was a real sport. His love of the game — and the university itself — grew from there.
“Growing up I only saw cartoons (with) Bugs Bunny and playing the game,” Rouhana says. “My first game was at Fenway during graduation week. Now we play the Red Sox down in Florida. So that’s almost coming full circle.”
More than 40 years after he first stepped foot on the Boston campus, Rouhana is now the associate director of university recreation, business and technology, which means most of his days are spent dealing with memberships, overseeing the budget and website, and managing the staff at the Marino Center.
His days typically begin when he wakes up at 3 a.m. He’s at the Marino Center by 4 to prepare the facility for its 5:30 opening. He is scheduled to stay until 1:30, but is often there later to check in with staff and attend meetings. He even uses his mechanical engineering background to occasionally fix machines.
“I never leave at 1:30,” he said. “It’s a long day but it’s something I enjoy. I tell people Northeastern is my second home. It might be my first one because I spend more time here than I spend in my home.”
Afternoons and weekends during the spring are for the baseball team. Rouhana also serves as the director of baseball operations, booking flights and hotels for the team’s travel.
“The coaching staff have so much on their plate that they don’t need to worry about stuff like this,” he said. “I have a passion for travel. … I take care of all their travels and their needs, which is something I love to do. I book their hotels, buses and flights and I get the pleasure of traveling with them and making sure they get from Point A to Point B.”
Rouhana became an employee at Northeastern a few years after he graduated with his degree in 1988. He took a job in the library, where he worked part time as an undergraduate. He eventually made his way over to the Marino Center, and while working there befriended the coach of the baseball team, leading to his involvement with the team.
“I feel like it’s fun because you’re molding the students to become leaders with baseball,” he said. “You’re molding them to hopefully become major leaguers.”
It’s this same sense of pride in helping students grow that’s kept him at Northeastern all these years; his favorite part of the job is watching students go from unsure freshmen to young adults.
“I don’t have kids, but I feel like they’re my kids,” he said. “It’s like I’m a proud father.”
While Rouhana loves watching the baseball games, he loves to travel nearly as much. When he’s not at Northeastern, you can probably catch him on the road.
He’s been to nearly every U.S. state, including Hawaii, where he went skydiving. He dabbles in international travel as well, having visited almost every country in Europe. His favorite place to go, though, other than Paris, is to his hometown in Lebanon.
“That’s where my heart is,” he said. “I have a home on the beach. That’s where I spend two weeks every summer. I go over there and spend two weeks on the beach. That’s all I do.”