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Tom Perini ’11
The all-time leading goal scorer in Lafayette men’s lacrosse history talks about economics, work ethic, and the changes he has seen during his four years at school.
What is your major and what do you like about your major?
My major is economics. I have really enjoyed learning about economics in such a crucial four-year time period. It was great to be able to get first hand insight from several economics professors during the recessionary periods. It is important to have a strong understanding of economics to prepare me for the business world.
What has been your most memorable academic experience at Lafayette?
Last year before Christmas break, former football star Zach Schleimer ’11 and I dressed up in elf costumes for a presentation in our Economics of Healthcare class. The presentation was about Medicaid under healthcare reform, but the costume and delivery was pretty entertaining. Professor Susan Averett still has pictures of us on her phone for anyone who wants to see them.
What does setting the all-time goals record at Lafayette mean to you?
The record definitely means a lot to me, but more importantly it made me really appreciate all the great teammates I have had over my four years at Lafayette. I probably only have a handful of unassisted goals in my career so the help of teammates like Robert Serling ’12, Matt Mersky ’10, and Stefan Bauer ’11 really made it possible for me to score so many goals. I just hope it shows the direction that the lacrosse program is moving in.
How has the lacrosse program changed in your time at Lafayette?
The culture of the program has changed a lot; it’s been a lot about team commitment and upperclassmen leadership. As a freshman, we only had two seniors on the team. The following year we had nine seniors and were only one goal away from getting into the Patriot League tournament. Once we got a taste of some success in ’09, we were really looking forward to the 2010 season and were able to make some noise around the league. The program has progressed and moved in the right direction every year I’ve been here. On a lighter note, we also listen to a lot more house music thanks to Tyler Silvey ’11 and Chris Palliser ’10.
What can you take from your lacrosse experience and incorporate into everyday life?
My lacrosse experience has taught me a lot about leadership and work ethic. Talent and ability can only take you so far; you have to be willing and able to put the hard work into something in order to get the most out of it. For example: A good singer isn’t automatically good at karaoke, sometimes the best are those who are willing to put the necessary time and effort into it to become the best. On an unrelated note, you should see Doug Gerowski ’11 and Mike Schmidlein ’11 sing a duet.
Sport you would participate in other than your own:
Definitely basketball. Other than scoring a big goal at a crucial moment in a lacrosse game, the best feeling has to be hitting a game-winning three-pointer – not that I’ve ever done it, but I have to imagine it’s pretty amazing.
What is your fondest lacrosse memory?
It has to be beating our rival high school, Chaminade, in front of a huge crowd. The St. Anthony’s and Chaminade rivalry is pretty similar to the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry.
Something about me that others would be surprised to hear is:
I got cut from the freshman football team in high school, and I absolutely hate bananas.
Favorite TV show as a kid?
Rugrats or Boy Meets World – I had a huge crush on Topanga.
Song/band most likely to be playing on your iPod:
It’s early spring, so it’s got to be “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band.