Tomorrow's Leaders Compete Here: Katlyn Scarpinella, Utica College

Women's Lacrosse | 4/16/2020 10:56:27 AM

Katlyn Scarpinella is a five-year member of the Utica women's lacrosse team, who has enjoyed tremendous success with the Pioneers. A two-year captain, Scarpinella earned All-Empire 8 first team honors in 2019 and second team accolades in 2017 as a midfielder, while recording 87 goals, 44 assists and 131 career points to go along with 136 draw controls, 120 ground balls and 59 caused turnovers in 54 contests.

Scarpinella tallied career-high totals of 28 goals, 20 assists, 48 points, 61 ground balls and 46 ground balls en route to also earning IWLCA All-Region accolades in 2019. She had seven goals and 10 points, while helping lead Utica to a 4-0 start in 2020.

Scarpinella, a native of South Setauket, NY, received her bachelor's degree in physical therapy in 2019 and is working towards her doctorate in the field. In addition to her accomplishments on the field, Scarpinella, recorded a 3.76 grade-point average as an undergrad and a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in her graduate studies. In addition, she has participated in several community service events as a member of the Pioneers.
Major: Doctorate of Physical Therapy
 
GPA: 4.0 (graduate); 3.76 (undergraduate)
 
Class Year: Senior
 
Anticipated Graduation Date: Undergraduate, May, 2019; Graduate, May 2021
 
Favorite Professional Athlete: Kylie Ohlmiller
 
Various Academic Honors/Academic or Athletic Clubs:

• Utica College Magna Cum Laude, May 2019
• Utica College Women’s Lacrosse Captain, January 2018-present
• Publication in the American Journal of Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine, February 2019
• NCAA Leadership Forum, National Harbor, MD, November 2017
• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Summit, Rochester, NY, January 2017
• IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Roll, May 2018
• Utica College Presidents List, December 2017-present
• Utica College Dean’s List, May 2016-present
• Utica College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, August 2018-May 2019
• Utica College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President, August 2016-May 2018
• Utica College Presidential Scholarship, August 2015
• Utica College Honors Program, August 2015-present
• National Society of Leadership and Success, August 2016-present

What Type of Community Service Have You Done:

• Buddy Walk, September 2019
• Cabvi Hockey Clinic for the Visually Impaired, June 2019
• Evelyn’s House Supply Drive, November 2017 & 2018
• Presbyterian Home and Services Volunteer, Utica, NY, September 2015-May 2017
• Special Olympic Volunteer, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, January 2017
• Community Fall Clean-Up, November 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019
• American’s Greatest Heart-Run Walk Telethon, February 2016

Plans After Graduation: After graduation, I plan on attending a physical therapy residency program for Neurological Rehabilitation to work toward becoming a Neurologic Clinical Specialist.
 
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 5 Years: I hope to be employed by a neurology rehabilitation center working with patients that have neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.  
 
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 10-15 Years/What is Your Ultimate Professional Goal: My ultimate professional goal is to open my own neurologic rehabilitation center. In addition, I hope to contribute to my profession by developing and producing research that could be presented at the Combined Sections Meeting or other physical therapy conventions.

Any Interesting or Exciting Internships You Have Done or Are Currently Working On: I completed my first clinical rotation in an outpatient setting at the Northwell Peconic Bay Outpatient facility during the summer of 2019. I learned a lot of interesting things that will make me a better clinician in my future while also meeting some amazing people. I worked with a variety of patients such as athletes with ankle sprains to elderly patients with joint replacements to a patient with a spinal cord injury.

How Has Playing Collegiately and in the Empire 8 Prepared You For Life After College: I have been presented with some amazing opportunities as a member of the Empire 8. An opportunity that I cherish very greatly is being able to attend the NCAA Leadership Forum in Washington D.C.. Not only was I able to meet some amazing people at this forum but I was able to learn a lot about myself and further develop my leadership skills that have helped and will help me in my future. In playing for the Empire 8, I was also able to attend the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Summit where some of my biggest competitors become my friend. The Empire 8 pushes their athletes to be better both on and off the field. They praise sportsmanship and unity despite the competitive nature of our sports which I believe is why being a part of this conference is so special to me. It has taught me to appreciate others' backgrounds and where they might come from and be able to appreciate our differences to be able to come together and produce great things.

Favorite Athletic Memory from Your Time in College: My favorite athletic memory was the win over Sage on March 27, 2019, where my coach, Kristin St. Hilaire and I hit milestones in our athletic careers during the same game. Coach won her 100th game and I tallied my 100th career point.
 
Biggest On-Campus Mentor: Jim Smith, Professor of Physical Therapy at Utica. He is an expert clinician and has produced some great research to better our practice. I have learned some amazing things from him and truly inspire to be as good of a physical therapist as him one day.
 
What Have You Learned About Yourself in College: I have learned that by pushing yourself to be the best that you can be, you can produce outcomes in yourself that you might have never thought possible
 
What Type of Leader Are You: I am a leader that leads by example. I believe that people do not respond positively when they are constantly told what to do, rather, leading by example can cause a radiates of energy that can trickle down and hopefully reach all members of your team or group, depending on the circumstances, and will produce the type of outcome you are hoping for.
 
One Thing Most People Do Not Know About You: I used to play hockey when I was younger.
 
Advice for Freshmen Teammates or Student-Athletes: Never take a day on the field for granted because there are people out there that got their last days on the field taken from them and would give anything to be back on that field. With that being said, every time you step out on the field remember how much of an honor that is and make sure you give 100 percent no matter the circumstances.

The Empire 8 Conference's “Tomorrow’s Leaders Compete Here” Series features a student-athlete from one of its member institutions who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. The complete list of featured student-athletes is available.

ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.
 
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram