Congratulations to our June Alumnus of the Month, John Papin!
When did you play?
I played for Michigan as a graduate student in 1987 and 1988. After that, I returned to working for General Motors outside of Buffalo NY, but was often assigned to months long projects in Warren or Troy, Michigan. When on assignment in Michigan I would come to practice and catch an occasional game. I did that until I moved to Luxembourg in 1992. Many of the guys thought I had played for several years, but really only full time for two.
What positions did you play?
I mostly played loose forward but occasionally other positions as needed.
What got you started?
I started playing rugby after graduating from RIT in 1984. There was a start-up team that we formed in Lockport, NY. I continued to play with them, off and on, until I moved away in 1992. In August 1987 the Lockport team went to the Can Am tournament in Saranac Lake, right before my first semester at Michigan. We ran into a bunch of Michigan guys wearing “food is terrorism” T-shirts. Dan Mascellino and Dale Tuttle were part of that group. They instructed me to contact Ian Gray as soon as I arrived on campus and were there to welcome me to my first practice.
What are your favorite memories/teammates?
It was a great time to be at Michigan; you had the old boys who were really teaching us rugby and creating a great team spirit, and then you had the undergraduates who were so much fun and full of energy. I was right in between and loved it.
There are so many names that I forget some of them. There were the old boys like Dan Mascellino, Dale Tuttle, Dave Perpich, Greg Rose, Jim Hagerman, Jeff Hagan, Ian Chapman, and Bruce Kingsbury. Then there were some guys more in my situation like Brett McBryde, the Zimmer Brothers, Kevin, Paul Lund, and Brad Martin. Then there were the undergraduates like Ben Hanna, Mike Benz, Pat Wingate, Scott Zeigler, and Jonathon Lichterman who I really enjoyed being with.
As for memories, it is difficult to pick one or two favorites. There were just so many.
What have you done since Michigan Rugby?
As I said, after I graduated from Michigan, I returned to work for General Motors. Then an opportunity to transfer to Europe for a 3 year assignment presented itself. I jumped on it. 3 years turned into 6, I met my wife and got married in Thionville, France, and decided to stay in Europe. International travel prevented me from continuing active rugby. I did however meet up socially with the club in Michigan when traveling there, linked up with them in Ireland and of course made an Olde Blue Weekend every now and then.
Professionally I stayed with General Motors and then what became Delphi for nearly 25 years, with various responsibilities from Plant Manager to Chief Engineer to Technical Director. After leaving Delphi, I started a consulting company taking what I learned and applying it to other companies. I then joined Nestlé at their headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. Finally I took a Corporate Vice President position in Paris for Nexans, where I traveled around the globe, mentoring young leaders, and helping them improve their operations.
How has Michigan Rugby affected your life beyond rugby?
Well, rugby in general is a great game which instills so many virtues in its players. Michigan for me exemplified the best of those values. These included the value of sportsmanship, hard work, perseverance, and trust. However for me the most important was the friendship, family and mentorship. I saw and experienced how the older, more-skilled players focused on improving the newer and less experienced players. How they looked after them. They made it clear that improving the next generation was as important as, or more important than, winning the game at hand. They had a motto: “Everyone gets a game.” Even when I was only visiting, they would make sure I got at least a half if I wanted it.
I have made it one of my principles to take the time to coach and mentor people for the future without simply focusing on the task at hand. It is too easy to focus on today’s results and forget about building the team for the future. I think that made me an effective leader later in life, by emulating the leaders I met at Michigan.
I must give a special shout out to one of the first Michigan Rugby mentors I met, Dan Mascellino. He was a larger than life person who coached and mentored us inexperienced forwards. It was no surprise to come to Michigan 35 years later in 2022 and see the same Dan Mascellino as dedicated to Michigan Rugby and his role as a mentor as he was in 1987 when I first joined. For me that exemplifies what it means to be a Michigan Rugger.
