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CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month Presented by the Hospital for Special Surgery

For all of the 2015-16 award winners, visit cunyathletics.com/saotmawards

For more CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month History, visit cunyathletics.com/saotmhistory

Lindsey Pero
Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College
Junior with a 3.963 GPA in Secondary Education with an English Focus
Swimmer from Brooklyn, NY and Midwood High School

Lindsey Pero has been named the CUNYAC/Hospital for Special Surgery Scholar-Athlete of the Month for December 2015. The Brooklyn native has maintained a 3.963 GPA in Secondary Education with an English focus, while minoring in Media Studies, and she has been one of the conference’s top swimmers throughout the season.

“Participating in swimming at the Division III level has taught me how much I really love it,” Pero states. “No one is paying me to be here and I can leave at any time, but I choose to be dedicated and love competing.”

The junior Freestyle/Butterfly specialist competed in swimming during all four years of high school at Midwood High School and has always loved it. “Swimming helps very much with time management. I’m more diligent during the swim season. I can’t push things off until next week,” said Pero. “When it comes to being a scholar-athlete it’s all about making sacrifices and I accept that,” she began. “But I certainly don’t think that it is a bad thing and it’s very rewarding.”

Pero’s road to Hunter began with swimming but it ended with her passion for teaching. The coaches at Hunter reached out to Pero during her senior year at Midwood. Pero was impressed by Hunter’s education program and discovered that the college would be a perfect fit, especially because of its proximity to home. She entered into the Macauley Honors College at Hunter while also joining the swim team. Pero made a splash that freshman season as she was named a CUNYAC All-Star for the 2013-14 season.

Hunter Women’s Swimming Co-Head Coach, Scott Bintner, is one of Pero’s biggest fans and he has nothing but admiration for her passion. Coach Bintner stated, “Lindsey is one of the biggest driving forces behind the team.  She is fiercely competitive in the pool and out, yet also one of the biggest cheerleaders for the rest of the team at meets and in practice.” On the other hand, Bintner notices Pero’s efforts outside of the pool. “ This extends to the classroom as well, as she expects nothing but the best from herself and her teammates academically,” continued Bintner.

Pero, in her third year as a member of the swim team, says that there is always room for improvement whether she is in the pool or in the classroom. “Improvement is tangible,” said Pero. “I can see my times improve in practice and at meets, when it comes to school I can see my GPA improve when I’m putting in the hard work.” However, Pero realizes that she can’t be great at everything. Her swimming expertise lies in the butterfly stroke where coach Bintner hails her as “one of the toughest butterflyers in the conference,” but she is always working to improve as a swimmer and student all-around.

Pero’s efforts have certainly not gone to waste. In the pool she had a great month where she finished no lower than 2nd in any of her events. As the month progressed, Pero’s times only got better and like she mentioned above, Pero saw her tangible improvements.

Whenever she isn’t in the pool or in a textbook, Pero works part time at Advocates for Services for the Blind Multihandicapped, Inc. and then, if she can find the ever rare “free time,” Pero enjoys reading plenty of books and writing a variety of different pieces.

“It’s a huge honor and it was completely unexpected,” Pero said when asked what it was like to be named the December Scholar-Athlete of the Month. “I am thankful to all of my teammates, coaches, family, and people at Hunter. This recognition of my hard work is only good motivation to keep it up going forward.”

As for her plans for the future, Pero is excited to begin field work beginning her senior year. She will get to observe in NYC high school classrooms and when she graduates from Hunter she will be fully certified to teach. Beyond that, Pero would like to attend a graduate program at a CUNY Institution to achieve a Master’s Degree in Special Education.

CUNYAC/Hospital for Special Surgery Honorable Mentions (In order of submission)
All Honorable Mention information is courtesy of the institution’s sports information staff

Karen Mak at Brooklyn
Sophomore with a 3.98 in Kinesiology
Women's Basketball Guard from New York, NY and Eleanor Roosevelt

A regular contributor at guard on the Brooklyn College women's basketball team, Karen Mak has exemplified the term "student-athlete". Following her third semester as a Kinesiology major with a perfect 4.0 GPA, the Manhattan native currently carries a 3.98 cumulative GPA. The sophomore team captain helped the Bulldogs to a 3-0 conference record with December averages of 4.4 ppg, 2.4 apg, and 4.2 rpg.

Andrew Lubrino at Baruch College
Sophomore with a 3.89GPA in Undeclared (Intended major is Finance)
Men's Swimming & Diving Freestyle from Staten Island, NY and St. Peter's Boys

Andrew Lubrino is a team leader, despite his sophomore status. He currently owns a 3.89 GPA and is a successful member of relay teams with the Bearcats. Last year, at the CUNYAC Finals, he places Top Three in seven different events.

Ryan Smart at York College
First Semester Freshman in Movement Science
Men’s Basketball Center/ Forward from Brooklyn, N.Y. and School for Global Studies

Smart has been one of York's best players as a freshman. In the month of December 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. His best game was a 22-point performance against Augsburg College in Puerto Rico on December 21. He also added games with 19 and 16 points during the month. He holds a 3.24 GPA as a Movement Science major.