“I challenge myself daily to see how much I can accomplish,” says Melissa Franzese (B.E., ’10). Using her excellent time management skills, Melissa not only is a record-setting Cross Country (XC) and Track and Field (T&F) athlete, she also is the Student Activities Committee rep for XC/T&F, a member of the Society of Women Engineers, the Historian in Alpha Phi Omega, on the Entertainment Committee and does work-study in the Athletics department in addition to serving as a tour guide and ambassador for the school.
Melissa says she enjoys setting goals for herself, and clearly her goals have no limits. She continues: “It feels good to have goals and then actually break them,” which is something she does time and time again.
In October, Melissa was named the Empire 8 Cross Country Runner of the Week, a distinction given to individuals with breakthrough performances in the Empire 8 Conference. Melissa continued successfully throughout the season, garnering the top finisher position for Stevens in several races, in addition to earning the First-Team All-Empire 8 honor. This past weekend, Melissa bested her own school mark in the T&F 3k at the NYU Open Invitational and became the first women’s athlete to qualify for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Melissa was drawn to Stevens for many reasons. In addition to appreciating the beautiful campus and its perfect blend of city and rural life, Melissa liked the athletic program because she knew she could continue to run and still balance her studies. She wanted to study engineering but wasn’t sure which aspect and Stevens offered the opportunity to explore the field before selecting Civil Engineering as her major.
After graduation, Melissa would like to work in New York City in construction management. In the meantime, she says she plans to stay dedicated and stay healthy, and to continue setting – and achieving – her goals.
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