Northwestern University

Austin Carr

For Austin Carr, an Academic All-Big Ten receiver, playing football is a creative endeavor. With years of artistic training under his belt as a composer, singer and pianist, Carr has found lining up as a wide receiver just another form of expression.

“As with songwriting, you are attuned to the details,” says Carr, who began his Northwestern career as a walk-on. “In football, there is structure on the field, but there is plenty of room for creativity at my position.”

Carr’s musical family – his mother is a classically trained pianist, his father a drummer –  never forced him to choose between fine arts and athletics. In addition to playing sports, Carr studied piano, was involved in his high school theater and sang in his church choir.

Here at Northwestern, he continues to pursue his diverse interests. Carr is majoring in Philosophy with a minor in the Business Institutions Program. He even finds time for songwriting. As a freshman, he won Northwestern’s annual Student-Athlete Talent Show. Carr’s efforts have also been rewarded by being named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.

This past year, he was chosen as one of five winners of the Irving Kabiller Memorial Award for Excellence in Character, Commitment, and Community. He received a grant to be used for his own professional development and attended conferences in New York to study entrepreneurship and the nonprofit sector.

In football, music, and preparation for life after Northwestern, Carr studies the details and improvises, leading him to new experiences and successes along the way.