Scholar-Athlete of the Month 7/11/2017 12:25:17 PM

Hunter’s Kristy Carlin Earns HSS Scholar-Athlete of the Month Award For May

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CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month Presented by the Hospital for Special Surgery
Kristy Carlin, Hunter College
Junior with a 3.87 GPA Majoring in Nursing in the Macaulay Honors College
Women’s Track Mid-Distance Runner from Staten Island, NY and Staten Island Technical

Hunter’s Kristy Carlin has been named the CUNYAC/Hospital for Special Surgery Scholar Athlete of the Month for May 2017. The junior from Staten Island, NY currently holds a 3.86 GPA while majoring in Nursing. May wasn’t the busiest month of the season for Carlin but she surely made the most of it. During May, Carlin’s average place of finish was third after competing in seven different races. Of those seven races, Carlin finished top-three in three of them, and finished first in one, the 4 x 400 meter relay race at the CUNYAC Outdoor Championships. At the Championships, Carlin played an integral role in the Hunter Hawks taking home their second Outdoor Track & Field title in a row.

“I started running track my freshman year of high school, at Staten Island Technical, after growing up watching my older brother and sister run. I've always been a 400m and 800m runner along with high jump but I run a variety of different events throughout the season,” said Carlin. Throughout her career at Hunter, Carlin has been apart of a few different CUNYAC Championships and holds those memories in some high regard, “My favorite memories come from our CUNYAC Championship meets. During those meets the whole team is really working together as one unit. Sometimes you're put into events that aren't your favorite, or you're in events that are back to back, but it never stops being fun.”

The Staten Island native found her way to Hunter College through a very familiar path that many CUNYAC Scholar Athlete’s of the Month do, through the Macaulay honors program. “I chose Hunter after being selected to be a part of the Macaulay honors program because of the opportunities it offered. I was also impressed by their science and nursing programs,” said Carlin. “As a nursing major, on a daily basis I do a ton of studying, especially memorizing different drugs for my pharmacology classes or brushing up on procedures for that weeks clinical session. I have clinical rotations once a week at a new hospital every semester which gives great hands on experience in nursing and had really made me love it more.”

The nursing major needs to work hard both on the track and when she’s back in the classroom. “Balancing my athletic and academic life has become second nature over the years. I like the structure and the schedule that comes with being on a sports team and that really helps me to translate that organization and work ethic to my school work. It is still challenging at some points in the semester but ultimately more than worth it,” said Carlin. “ I think there are similarities between track and being in the classroom. For an example, your grades or your times on the track both depend on the work you put in all semester or season. Short cuts or easy ways out never quite cut it in either situation. I think my competitiveness in athletics carries over to my competitiveness in the classroom.”

Despite her balancing act, the junior uses her everyday challenges as a learning experience, “Participating in collegiate athletics has taught me a lot about hard work and attitude and how important they both are in accomplishing the things that you want to do. I had a breakthrough season this past outdoor and it made me take notice of the things I was doing differently. Most of the difference came from inside my own head from believing in myself the way my coaches believed in me and using that confidence to be brave on the track and run races that scared me or challenged me. This is a lesson I'll take with me to all parts of my life. If you have the right mindset, put in the right work, and are a little brave, you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

In the minimal free time that Kristy has, she has spent it giving back to the younger generation within New York City. “This past year in my free time I joined an organization called Peer Health Exchange in which I went into 9th grade classrooms in NYC high schools and taught health and sexual education lessons to students who normally wouldn't get that information until their senior year of high school. Both health and education are things that are important to me so this organization really helped bring those two things together in order to give back to a community.”

When asked what it meant to be May’s CUNYAC/HSS Scholar Athlete of the Month Carlin had the following to say, “being chosen as the Scholar Athlete of the Month is really an honor! It's great to be acknowledged for the hard work put in all year, and I'm thankful for my family, friends and coaches for getting me here. There's a ton of support that comes from being on an athletic team, and I'm lucky to be a part of Hunter's athletic department.”

The junior still has another year to garner more accolades but as for her future plans, “after I graduate from Hunter I'll be able to work as a registered nurse. I do plan on furthering my education and getting my masters and doctorate so I can work as a nurse practitioner. Right now, I either want to be an NP working in pediatrics or women's health, but I'm open to other specialties as I get to experience them throughout my clinical rotations.”