JGBS Program Series: Ben Albers

By Isabella Schultz | Crestview Hills, KY

Februrary 20, 2025

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        When someone first meets Ben Albers, they may think he is like every other student-athlete at Thomas More.  

An athlete who eats, sleeps, and breathes their sport.

But, by talking to Albers for a couple of minutes, someone would find out quickly that he is more than just his sport.

Albers, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and an Elder alumnus is a senior outside hitter on the men’s volleyball team.

Albers has earned many accomplishments on the court, including being the men’s volleyball program’s all-time leader in kills.

But he wants people to know that he is more than his volleyball accomplishments and that those don’t define him.

Albers is a full-time biology student, a medical assistant at OrthoCincy, and an athlete, but on top of all that, he is also a proud member of the James Graham Brown Scholars Program.

A program for the most well-rounded and virtuous thinkers at Thomas More University.

With being in a scholars program, Albers has to make time to complete 90 service hours per year for JGBS in his hectic schedule.

To complete these service hours, he introduced the Red Cross blood drives to Thomas More.

Albers was first introduced to the Red Cross as a sophomore when his volleyball coach told him about an internship called the Red Cross Collegiate Leadership Program.

“I got accepted [into the internship] out of the couple thousand applications,” said Albers.  “There were 12 of us, and we worked at the Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington D.C., a block from the White House.”

During his summer in Washington D.C., Albers had the opportunity to learn from those who work at the headquarters while also interacting with Congressmen and regional managers.

Albers then took what he learned in Washington D.C. and applied it back home to JGBS, where he impacted the community at Thomas More.

To Albers, the JGBS community has helped him strive as a student-athlete because even with all of his commitments and responsibilities.

On the volleyball side, Albers hopes to make a deep run in the IVA tournament.

“I’m very excited for our season,” said Albers.  “I think we can really make an impact in the IVA tournament… I hopefully can make a good impact on my final year here.  I want to leave the program on a good note and hopefully continue to excel the program in the right direction.”

Ben is a great athlete, but an extraordinary student.

After he graduates from Thomas More, he hopes to be able to continue his schooling in medical school.

The JGBS program has helped advance Albers throughout his years at Thomas More.

The connections he’s made will last a lifetime, and even though it is demanding, JGBS has been his lifeline in his past four years at Thomas More.