Features
Trading spikes for scrubs
The call came on a Sunday afternoon in late April. Senior women’s soccer player Emily Nuss was driving down Vestal Parkway with fellow student-athlete Justin McFadden. Since she was driving, she asked McFadden to look and see who it was. He relayed that it was an “unknown number” and then jokingly pretended to answer, saying “Emily Nuss’s secretary.” She grabbed the phone, fearing he had actually answered it, and quickly realized she was talking to Dr. Henry Weil, one of the deans of the Columbia-Bassett Program, the specialized and highly-selective program in the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia P&S). She quickly pulled into a parking lot and heard the formal offer: “We would like to offer you a position in our program.” Nuss accepted and promptly broke into a celebration lap around her car. She had just scored the game-winner.
Nuss completed her noted four-year career as a starter on the women’s soccer team in the fall. She played 68 games and helped BU post 30 wins and play postseason three times in four seasons. After playing wing back as a freshman, she finished out her career at center midfield, earning praise for her technical abilities and team-first mentality. Central midfielders are charged with keeping the team’s balanced shape on the field and serving as connectors between teammates in front and back, left and right. They facilitate the offense and defense and are almost always in leadership roles on the field, finding ways to put their teammates in positions so they can succeed. They don’t often gain much glory, because many of their contributions are more subtle, such as the precise breakout pass that leads to the pass that ultimately results in a goal. Or the long run tracking an opposing forward that turns into a takeaway. Or the relentless work rate that breaks down an opponent’s physical and mental willpower. That was Nuss.
Former basketball player traveling world
As a Binghamton basketball player in the 1998-2000 seasons, 6-foot-9 center Eric Giuliani had to squeeze his large frame into bus seats for away trips.
Fifteen years later, Giuliani is still navigating close quarters on crowded buses. But now instead of traveling to the likes of Felician and Green Mountain colleges, he’s been using public transportation to get from Cape Town to Cairo and points in-between.
Giuliani is nearly one year into a remarkable journey around the world and one he is expertly documenting with vivid photography, video and introspective commentary. Giuliani is logging his entire experience on his travel website traveltall.com and also on Instagram and Twitter (@TravelTall for both), where he has more than 70,000 followers.
As of late August, Giuliani had covered roughly 25,000 miles across Africa, the Middle East and Europe using only public transportation. No airplanes and no guidebooks. Currently in London, his goal is to cross northern Europe, then Russia, China and Southeast Asia. From there, he plans to travel to Australia and New Zealand, catch a boat to the United States, then tour North and South America and finally return to his starting point in Africa, likely during the 2018 calendar year. Giuliani will do all of it by bus and boat - and much of it by the seat of his pants. For him, the travel is part of a personal mission - one that began out of disenchantment with the 9-to-5 routine but is really more about a quest for exploration and personal growth.
Former lacrosse player overcomes Hodgkin lymphoma
Facing adversity is a certainty of life. How someone handles the adversity that comes their way is the key. A positive attitude and support from family and friends have helped Andy Cook overcome and thrive.
Cook, a 2010 graduate of Binghamton University, was a four-year lacrosse student-athlete. He then coached for a season at BU before heading to Florida for physical therapy school in 2012. During his first year in the program, Cook felt the side of his neck one morning. “My nodes were swollen,” said Cook. “I had never been sick before, but I eventually went to get a CAT scan.” On his drive home, Cook’s phone rang. The doctor told Cook to come back the next morning. He had been diagnosed with Hodgkins’ Lymphona.
Cook grew up in a lacrosse family. His father played and his uncle, David, was an All-American at SUNY Cortland. “I started playing when I was about five years old. I also played baseball, but in seventh grade, I decided I wanted to play more lacrosse,” he said. At Vestal High, Cook was recruited by Binghamton University as a junior. “I had never thought about coming to Binghamton, but when a Division I scholarship offer came along, I jumped at the opportunity,” he said.
In 2007, the Bearcats were still developing their program, having only been in Division I for six years. The team practiced on grass and played on a field by the East Gym on campus. “It was great,” he said. “I loved the team and the coaches were great.” He was an immediate factor for Binghamton, earning America East All-Rookie honors following the 2007 season. Cook went on to appear in 53 matches, scoring 52 goals and totaling 80 career points.