In the wake of all that is happening in society today, the goal of Academy of Art Athletics remains the same: to help shine a light on our amazing student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. With that in mind, ART U brings to you the latest installment of the Knights Roundtable!

We welcome our next roundtable guest - men's golf senior Otto Homruen! A junior transfer to Academy of Art from Barton Community College in 2018, Otto has been impressive thus far, maintaining the second-lowest career average score (75.00) in program history. Finishing tied with teammate Gabriel De Leon Manotoc for second overall at the 2019 PacWest Championship, Otto earned All-Tournament Team honors that year. In addition, for his outstanding work in the School of Graphic Design, Otto was awarded Academic All-PacWest twice over two seasons while becoming a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar and adding a D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award both this past year. Without further delay, let's meet Otto!

Sports Info: Can you talk a little bit about your hometown and where you grew up? What did you like to do when you were young? 

Otto: I'm from Hua Hin, Thailand which is a small beach town located in the south of Bangkok. Besides golf, I grew up with a passion in painting and drawing. I used to have a goal of becoming an artist, but I ended up focusing more on golf.

Sports Info: When did you first start developing a passion for golf? What did you like about it?

Otto: I don't quite remember how I got into golf, but I heard from my parents that I really enjoyed watching Tiger Woods on TV back then when I was three or four years old. I only remember that golf was part of my life already.

Sports Info: What is your favorite part about being a student-athlete?

Otto: For me, it really opens up many windows of my life. It gives me an opportunity to become a better golfer and graphic designer. Even though it's more challenging for time management, this is the way I chose so I have to do my best on the course and in the classroom.

Sports Info: What is a phrase or a piece of advice that you try to live your life by?

Otto: My parents always remind me: "No matter how far you go or how much you achieve, you have to be humble, kind, and nice to everyone around you." I think it's the best advice from my parents which makes me who I am today.

Sports Info: What is one of your favorite activities that is unique to your hometown?

Otto: I'm not sure if it's unique, but whenever I'm home, I like to go play soccer with my friends.

Sports Info: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Otto: I would be a wolf. I think they're smart, fast, and most importantly, they would do whatever to protect the family.

Sports Info: What project during your time at Academy of Art are you most proud of and why?

Otto: It would be a project from Graphic Design 1 where I made a book called "IMPACT" and a poster that were chosen to be on the display at the Graphic Design department. I'm proud of this one because it is my first project that has been chosen and it paid off all the hard work from that semester.

Sports Info: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Otto: It would be Japan. I have been there before and I fell in love with the city so much. It might be because I grew up with Japanese pop culture that is also popular in Thailand such as anime, manga, or food. I feel like whenever I'm in Japan, I'm surrounded by everything I like.

Sports Info: What attracted you to your major and what do you love most about your major?

Otto: Because I think I'm not good at speaking or writing, I have found graphic design could send the message to the viewers by just simple shapes and colors. What I love the most is there are always new things to learn in order to develop my skill of visual communication and I also love sharing ideas with classmates. It is very fun to see what people think about my work and how I could develop it further.

Sports Info: If you could play a round of golf with anyone, who would it be and why?

Otto: After not being able to play as much golf as usual during the pandemic, I would love to play with all of my teammates again. It is always fun to have conversations and play with those guys.