From Sport to Service, CMU Men’s Soccer Alum John Moran Makes a World of Difference

For Army Major John Moran (CEE 1996), service to community and country was something ingrained in him during his time on the Pittsburgh campus of Carnegie Mellon University. As a student, the civil and environmental engineering major was a member of ROTC and a men's soccer player who discovered his passion for impacting the lives of others while continuing his athletic dream of playing collegiate soccer.

Moran was a goalkeeper on the 1994 Tartan team that made the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Although Moran had a limited role on the field, he made the most of his time by communicating with then head coach Nick Gaudioso about soccer strategy and coaching. This level of interaction and connection with his coach became a student experience he hasn't forgotten.

"I wasn't a recruited athlete but Coach Gaudioso gave me a chance to be part of the team," said Moran. "Playing collegiate soccer was a goal of mine and he helped make that happen. The time spent with my teammates on and off the field is something I reflect on and I'm still in contact with a number of my teammates to this day."

Moran's playing experience turned into a coaching opportunity when Gaudioso pointed him in the direction of a local youth organization. Moran attended two practices a week during the spring season and all of the games on Saturdays and this experience lit a fire that has continued to burn. "That was my first coaching experience," said Moran. "I really enjoyed working with the 11 to 13-year-olds and they made an impression on me."

While working as a full-time engineer for a construction company and joining a U.S. Army Reserve Engineer unit after graduation, Moran continued his mission of impacting youth through sports by coaching soccer in the evenings. What started as an assistant role at a high school turned into seven years of club level soccer, which in turn elevated to the creation of a community soccer foundation.

In his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, Moran helped develop Rocket City Soccer Foundation with the aim of getting club level coaches into inner city communities. "Some of the poorer middle schools didn't have a soccer program but there was a lot of interest in the community," said Moran. "So we put together practices and gave them a method to have a school team through U.S. Club Soccer.

"We didn't have to pay state school fees but got sponsorships so the team could get registered and play some games," continued Moran. "It was sixth and seventh grade kids, mixed gender, who now had a place to play that wasn't going to cost a lot of money."

The program grew large enough to hold intersquad games between a few different middle schools that otherwise wouldn't have been able to play. "Coaching is fun," said Moran. "You get to connect with kids beyond soccer and watch them grow into good people."

When Moran wasn't finding ways to help kids stay active and improve their soccer skills, he was serving the nation as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves. Moran has been deployed on three occasions to oversee projects in Kuwait and Iraq, including service as a facility engineer and master planner at Contingency Operating Base Basra in Southern Iraq and responsibility as the Deputy Director of Public Works for all Army facilities in Kuwait.

During Ceilidh weekend, Moran received the Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible (CEE 1995) Distinguished Public Service Award from the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department at their annual alumni awards ceremony. Lt. Col. Raible was a CEE alumnus who was killed in Afghanistan when 15 enemy personnel conducted the most destructive attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan just days before the Bengazi attack.

Upon learning of Lt. Col. Raible's passing and his Carnegie Mellon connection, Moran asked permission to name a new housing complex in his honor. Moran got the blessing from Raible's mother and the complex he designed is under construction. Thanks to a sponsor secured by Moran, a facility sign will be posted to tell Chris's story to those who pass through the Raible housing complex.

"Although I didn't know Chris well, we hung out socially in the civil engineering lab," said Moran. "The tragic news of his death really hit me hard. I have deployed three times but until then had never had a personal connection with anyone who gave all. I wanted his heroic story to be told in hopes of impacting our military leaders' future base security decisions.

"To be given an award for military service named after Chris is humbling," continued Moran. "I've never been put in a situation like that. What I've done is military base design, planning and construction, just standard engineering type work for the military, but nothing heroic."

Moran is now preparing for his fourth tour with the Army where he'll help the U.S. Central Command plan construction projects in Southwest and Central Asia and looks forward to returning to Pittsburgh for Carnival to reconnect with friends and establish new relationships with current athletes.