"I just want to touch dirt, plant things and watch them grow."
That's one of the many ways in which academic advisor Nick McNeil has described himself during a recent afternoon at his office in Cal's Athletic Study Center. It applies to a recent interest in growing his own food - including the majority of his lunch that day - as well as to McNeil's general outlook on life.
McNeil and his gardenAbout to begin his sixth year at the Athletic Study Center, McNeil, 32, provides academic guidance to the Golden Bears when he isn't catching a wave, shushing down slopes, mountain biking or scaling a mountain.