Brian Karalunas

Classroom

Karalunas maintains a 3.93 GPA in honors and philosophy with a minor in writing and rhetoric and has been named to the Dean’s List every semester during his time on campus. Additionally, Karalunas is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and was an applicant for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. His other academic accomplishments include being named the 2010-11 American Eagle Outfitters Big East Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 2010 Big East Men’s Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer Men’s Lacrosse Performer of the Year, 2010 Villanova University Spanish Poetry Reading Finalist, 2009-2010 BIG EAST Academic All-Star, 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner’s Academic Award honoree. He is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and is a contributing writer to the school newspaper, The Villanovan.

Character

Karalunas is a consummate team player and has twice been named a team captain for Villanova. He is a vocal and emotional leader on and off the field and sets a tone for the entire team with his tireless work ethic. Karalunas has set lofty goals for himself and is dedicated to achieving his aspirations, which is clearly shown by his numerous accomplishments. His contributions to the team and his leadership abilities have been noticed at the university and beyond, as Karalunas founded the Graterford Maximum Security Prison Advanced Restorative Justice Program as a student at Villanova. This program is designed to explore alternatives to the retributive justice system by emphasizing forgiveness, victim-offender relations and community building with current inmates. Furthermore, Karalunas has regularly given back to the lacrosse community as a tutor and coach for youth lacrosse teams.

Community

In addition to his justice program, Karalunas regularly volunteers as a deacon, lay preacher and confirmation sponsor in the Onondaga Valley Presbyterian Church. Through the church, he volunteers in soup kitchens, homeless shelters and tutors youth. Karalunas also served as a youth advisory delegate with the Presbyterian Church 218th General Assembly, establishing policies, priorities and budgets for the church in a national setting. He has also volunteered numerous times with disaster assistance in Broome County, N.Y., performing flood rehabilitation for the poor and elderly. At Villanova, Karalunas serves as an awards proctor for the Villanova Special Olympics Fall Festival, the largest student-run Special Olympics event in the U.S. He is also a four-year volunteer at the Villanova Day of Service, serving as a clean-up specialist in the nation-wide “Day of Service” event with the Augustinian Church and Villanova University. He also regularly spends time volunteering with the Villanova University Environmental Club.

Competition

After his junior season, Karalunas was named honorable-mention USILA all-American, all-Big East first team and conference co-Defensive Player of the Year. He enters his senior season as a team captain and the two-time defending team MVP. He was also a member of the honorable-mention USILA all-American team as a sophomore. Karalunas is the school’s all-time leader in caused turnovers (83) and caused turnovers per game (1.77). In January he was selected as the 35th overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft.