St. Ed’s senior Josh Hurwitz received some unexpected good news on two fronts in recent weeks: the first clearing away clutter on the road to a bright academic future, and the second bestowing an honor on a young man who epitomized a term frequently misapplied – student-athlete.
Hurwitz was strongly considering Emory University and the University of Virginia – and possibly the University of Florida and Vanderbilt University – when he ran into wall. In a quandary over the decision, he decided to consult trusted sources – namely, his parents and St. Ed’s Academic Dean/Director of College Counseling Michele Sternberg.
“It is a pretty interesting story of how I chose Virginia,” Hurwitz told us. “After not feeling sure about my visit to Emory, my parents and I sat in Mrs. Sternberg’s office trying to decide what to do. She suggested we go to Charlottesville just to check it out, and if we didn’t like it, we could go to Nashville to see Vanderbilt.
“Shortly after that I got a phone call on a Friday afternoon from the UVA associate dean of admissions congratulating me on being accepted into the Echols Scholar Program along with about 200 other top applicants. She asked if I was planning to attend a day for admitted students that following Monday.
“I said, ‘Of course.’ When I got off the phone my parents and I immediately booked plane tickets and we left for Charlottesville two days later. I absolutely loved everything about my visit and felt that UVA was where I would fit in best. I decided UVA is the school I want to be associated with for the rest of my life.
“It was a pretty crazy chain of events. Everything just kind of fell into place.”
With the giddiness of that yet to wear off, Hurwitz received another jolt of positive energy. This time it was recognition for mastering the sometimes delicate balance between the classroom and athletic field.
Lacrosse was his main sport since he arrived on campus at a very tender age, but it was by no means his only extracurricular activity.
“I’ve been at St. Edward’s since pre-kindergarten,” Hurwitz said. “I was 4 years old when I came here. With the exception of fourth grade when we moved to California, I have been here ever since. Thankfully the school still recognizes me as a die-hard. That means a lot to me because the school has meant a lot to me in my 14 years here.
“I have tried to be involved in a lot of different ways. That’s not only at the middle school or high school. In the lower school I was doing the chess club and Cub Scouts.
“In fifth grade I started playing lacrosse, but I was not really playing that seriously until I got to seventh and eighth grade with the middle-school team. In eighth grade I started playing travel lacrosse and that got me ready for high school. I was prepared to play varsity lacrosse as a freshman.
“I’ve played year-round lacrosse since then with my travel teams and the school team. This year I’ve played 10 months of lacrosse.”
His dedication to lacrosse didn’t preclude participation in several other sports, nor did it hinder an academic load that was packed with AP classes in biology, chemistry and calculus. Just scratching the surface, he won awards and recognition for achievement in science, math, history, English and even Chinese.
On the subject of Chinese Hurwitz said, “I wouldn’t say I’m fluent in Chinese. I took it from eighth through 11th grade, but I didn’t take it this year so I could focus on the college application process. Taking Chinese was great for the four years that I did. I don’t know if proficient is the right word, but if I was lost in the middle of Beijing, I could probably find where I needed to go.”
Hurwitz played JV basketball for two years and began running cross county as a sophomore when the coach heard that he was a good athlete and convinced him to join the team. A year later he got an email welcoming him to the varsity swim team. That’s the way things work at St. Ed’s. Athletes are encouraged to try new sports. Hurwitz became an ambassador and recruiter for every team he was on.
After graduation, for the third summer in a row Hurwitz will be a counselor at Camp Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of central New York. Then he becomes a Virginia Cavalier.
The current plan is to major in history and get on a pre-med track. He will probably go the club route with lacrosse, realizing that making the UVA varsity would be a longshot at best.
“Something that sets me apart from a lot of the other kids in my grade is that I’m not itching to get out of Vero Beach,” Hurwitz said. “I have really enjoyed growing up here. It’s going to be sad for me to leave.”
