After four years of hard work and dedication to lacrosse, senior Jack Keating committed to the Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Here, he will continue his lacrosse career while also majoring in mechanical engineering.

At first, it was difficult for Keating to find a college that had the right combination of sports and academics. Going
after a Division I school would mean focusing heavily on sports and possibly having to sacrifice portions of academics. On the other hand, completely ditching the sports aspect of college would mean having to sacrifice major portions of sports. But after seeing this Division III college in action, Keating knew it was where he wanted to spend the next four years. It was exactly what he was looking for.

“I went up to Western New England to watch a lacrosse practice in the fall to see how they practice. I also shadowed some of the engineer lacrosse players to see what a day was like for them,” Keating said.

“After these two experiences, I went home knowing I wanted to go there.”

Keating contributed a lot to the past success of the boys’ lacrosse team at ELHS playing midfield. He received ECC midfield honorable mention and was named the captain of the lacrosse team this year. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, he wasn’t able to play his freshman year. This didn’t stop him from having major success with his team the next year, however: EL boys’ lacrosse won ECC’s year and made it to the semi-finals in states. This year, he hopes to have similar success with the team. He also hopes to be a key component to the future success of lacrosse
at Western New England University.

“I am looking forward to becoming the best player I can be and having great teammates,” Keating said.

Although he gives a lot of his time to lacrosse, he is also extremely dedicated to his academics and extracurriculars. Along with doing exceptionally well in rigorous courses like AP Physics II and Foundations of Calculus, Keating has also won the silver award for more than 50 hours of community service in the Leo’s Club last year. Additionally, he is an active participant in the Spanish Honors Society. Participating in so many activities can be a challenge for
anyone, but Keating believes this component of high school is just as important as athletics when it comes to college.

“I would make sure to focus most on academics because that will help you get into the best college,” Keating said.

“However I think classes that you find the most interesting should be the classes you take.”