Austin Smith

Classroom

Austin Smith, a finance major and business intelligence minor, holds an overall 3.48 GPA. He was voted onto the 2017 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team and was named the Saint Joseph’s men’s lacrosse program’s winner of the last year’s Scholar-Athlete Award, which is an award earned for exceptional success both on the field and in the classroom. He has qualified for the Saint Joseph’s Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in all seven of his semesters and has qualified for the Northeast Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll in all three of his spring semesters. He is on track to graduate in May 2018.

Smith interned with First Washington Realty in Washington, D.C., as an acquisitions intern where he created and maintained the database of current and potential commercial properties across the United States; worked in conjunction with a team to manage, sort, and filter properties that met investment criteria; developed spreadsheets; and utilized industry data to present key information to executives. He also assisted in analyzing and underwriting properties on a daily basis. Smith completed another internship with PureLyft in Philadelphia as a brand ambassador, through which he interacted with potential consumers to stimulate a demand for the product line, performed marketing strategies to generate increasing revenues by adding new points of sale, monitored account metrics providing weekly recaps for upper management, and had an integral role in acquiring a national supplier contract from heavy increase in sales. Upon graduation, he plans to obtain a Commercial Real Estate Analyst position in Washington, D.C., and will pursue a master’s degree in real estate.

Character

“Austin Smith has quietly become one of the most dynamic and impactful players on our team. He was a first-team All-League player a year ago, and, while he has made great strides as a player, I am most proud of the development Austin has made in becoming a more vocal leader. He is a quiet-natured young man by nature, but he knows that our team needs his voice and his energy each day at practice. He has really stepped up and become one of the leaders of our defensive group.” – Head Coach Taylor Wray

Community

In Fall 2016, Smith and the Saint Joseph’s men’s lacrosse program participated in the University City Classic and raised $3,000 in donations toward HEADstrong in an effort to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential programs and services. In Fall 2015, the Hawks hosted the first annual HEADstrong SJU Fall Scrimmage, through which the Hawks fundraised $3,000. For four consecutive years, Smith also participated in SJU’s Martin Luther King Day of Service, which involves cleaning up public trails and churches to benefit the local Philadelphia community. He also participated in the SJU Kinney Center 5k Walk/Run for Autism multiple times, which raised the most money of all groups for three consecutive years, and volunteered at the John C. Anderson Cultural Center Halloween Party for two years in an effort to help kids of the local community celebrate the holiday.

Outside of Saint Joseph’s he has taken a service trip to Camden, N.J., to clean and refurbish the streets, parks, and schools in the community; volunteered with the Special Olympics of Maryland; and volunteered with S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) out of Washington, D.C., to help feed the homeless.

Competition

Smith returned for his final season as the defending Northeast Conference First Team long stick midfielder. He has made 36 appearances as an LSM, including all 16 appearances in 2016 and all 14 appearances in 2017. As of nomination time, he owns 89 ground balls, including back-to-back seasons with 40+ ground balls from 2016 (40) to 2017 (49). He averaged 3.5 ground balls per game, recorded 13 caused turnovers and scored six times in 2017. His highlight-reel games include matching a career-high seven ground balls, causing two turnovers and scoring a goal at Delaware in 2017; matching a career-high seven ground balls, causing two turnovers, and assisting on the late-game equalizer vs. Monmouth in 2017; scooping up six ground balls and causing a career-high three turnovers at Sacred Heart in 2017; recording six ground balls and scoring twice at Manhattan in 2017; gobbling up a career-high seven ground balls at Wagner; and registering three ground balls at then-No. 17 Virginia in 2017. In a pair of NEC postseason appearances, he had two ground balls and one caused turnover in SJU’s 2016 NEC semifinals win over Robert Morris and also had one assist, two ground balls and two caused turnovers in SJU’s 2016 NEC title game vs. Hobart.