Gretchen Korf and Marie Boo traveled very different paths to reach their present destinations.
But, in their own ways, both College of Saint Benedict graduates are making an impact in Major League Soccer.
Korf, a 2000 CSB graduate, joined the Minnesota United Football Club (MNUFC) in 2022 as the team’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) after spending 14 years at UnitedHealth Group, working primarily in corporate affairs and philanthropy.
“In the spring of 2022, I left UnitedHealth Group to take some time off before figuring out what I wanted to do next,” she said. “That summer, a former colleague from UnitedHealth Group reached out to gage my interest in the CFO role with Minnesota United. She caught me before I even started to look anywhere else. It was all about maintaining relationships, and of course the community impact that Minnesota United has was a huge draw.”
Last September, her role expanded to provide oversight for Human Resources and IT, in addition to finance. She is now the Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the club, which has entered into a three-year agreement with CSB and Saint John’s University, making the two schools’ the team’s exclusive higher education partners.
“Having a sense of community and purpose and being able to give back have always been important to me,” said Korf, a Farmington High School graduate “This was really amplified during my time at Saint Ben’s.
“I graduated with an accounting degree and began my career in public accounting having spent six years at Ernst &Young. I always assumed I would one day find a role with a nonprofit where I could use my financial expertise. My tenure at UnitedHealth Group role focused on community engagement and impact. There are similar opportunities with Minnesota United where I’m able to utilize the experiences throughout my career to further impact our communities through sports. Just go to Allianz Field on any given game day and you’ll see how we engage with the community and our fans.”
Boo, who graduated in 2011, took over as senior rehab coordinator and physical therapist for the San Jose Earthquakes last September, just after concluding her duties as the physical therapist for the U.S. Women’s National Team – including at the 2023 World Cup.
“My time at CSB prepared me for what I’m doing now,” the Anoka High School graduate said last fall. “When I was a first-year, I needed a work-study position and I heard there was one open in the training room. I interviewed and started working there that winter. That’s when I first fell in love with the field of sports medicine. Getting to be on the field and part of sports in a different way than I had before was inspiring.
“I played three sports in high school and I still wanted to be involved. Working in the training room was so challenging and exciting that I realized this was the kind of career I wanted to pursue.”
Boo got her doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin and worked in a variety of roles, including as a sports physical therapy resident at Texas Christian University before spending over five years as a physical therapist at Stanford University. It was there she began forming connections that helped her land a role with the U.S. National Team.
“I’d worked with a few players on the Stanford women’s soccer team who get called up to the national team, so I got a glimpse of the U.S. Women’s National Team environment and how that process worked,” she said. “When the opportunity came up two years ago, it really was a dream come true.
“There was a lot of travel. But the experiences were ones that I will never forget. It was incredible to be at the World Cup and getting to be a part of the energy and excitement that surrounded it. That atmosphere is unparalleled. But another unforgettable moment was getting to be at Wembley Stadium (in London) when we played in front of a sold-out crowd of 80,000. It was so loud out there. That was just awesome to experience.”
Both Korf and Boo said they look back on their time at CSB with fondness.
“There were the physical things I learned in the training room – how to tape ankles, but the courses I took really helped me understand and develop critical thinking skills that I use every day in my current role,” Boo said.
“I was also fortunate enough to study abroad through an external program. Saint Ben’s was so helpful to make work for me and transfer credits toward my degree. I studied in Cyprus, but I was able to travel to 15 different countries and that opened my eyes to a lot of new things. But it was the grounding in the Benedictine values that are instilled at CSB – things like integrity and responsibility. Those are things I still try to hold true to in my daily life.”
Korf said her experience was very similar.
“I studied abroad on the Greco-Roman program my junior year, and also participated in and led various alternative spring break service trips that helped me appreciate that there is such a big world to explore and make an impact on,” she said.
“It all points back to the Benedictine values – the concept of serving others. It’s just so important, and (it) was engrained in me during my time at CSB.”
Gretchen Korf ’00
Marie Boo ’11