The lacrosse standout wants to teach the sport she loves and help mold young minds
Jaclyn Sileo is a competitor.
The former Long Island University/LIU Post women’s lacrosse star’s long list of accomplishments – including two NCAA Division II lacrosse championships, the East Coast Conference all-time scoring record and five-consecutive semesters on the dean’s list – make that perfectly clear.
Jaclyn Sileo
Long Island University/LIU Post
Lacrosse
Division II
East Coast Conference
Academics
GPA: 3.68
Major: Psychology
Academic All-America honors
Five-times on dean’s list
Athletics
Two-time NCAA national champio
DII record holder for all-time assists
DII championships record holder for most points scored
Most Outstanding Player, 2012 NCAA DII Women’s Lacrosse Championship
Two-time ILWCA All-America honors
Community Service
Organizations served: Island Harvest Food Drive, Ronald McDonald House, Hurricane Sandy relief, Lose Your Training Wheels, among others
Leadership
Team captain
Sileo also graduated from LIU Post with a degree in psychology and earned a position as a graduate assistant coach with the women’s lacrosse team.
“I was always working on and off the field for lacrosse and school,” she said. “It was hard work and I didn’t have a lot of downtime but it paid off in the end. We won two national championships and I got a great education. Overall, they were the best four years of my life.”
Sileo also participated in several community service projects, with her experiences sparking an enthusiasm for service that has shaped her career choices.
“I have come to realize the impact simply reaching out and helping others can have,” Sileo said. “It is truly heartwarming to see how a simple act of kindness can go such a long way.”
Sileo focused her extracurricular service efforts on children. She participated in a program that teaches special needs children how to ride bikes and donated some of her time to a youth lacrosse camp. Her favorite event, though, was the lacrosse team’s visit to the Ronald McDonald House, a charity that allows a family to live in a house for little to no cost while their child receives specialized medical care nearby.
“Ten teammates and I went in and cooked food for the families while their children were in the hospital next door,” said Sileo. “Being able to see the kids, hang out and make them laugh was a really great experience. It stuck with us and we will never forget about the people we met there.”
Experiences like those have encouraged Sileo to adjust her career goals. The former clinical mental health counseling graduate student is now pursuing a master’s degree in school counseling – she hopes to provide guidance to middle school students.
“Counseling in middle school is extremely important because kids at that age are so impressionable,” she said. “If you can help guide and support them at a young age then they will grow up to live healthy happy lives and have great self-esteem.”
While her dedication to counseling grows, her competitive spirit has not waned. Sileo hopes one day to work for a school where she can both counsel and coach.
“That,” she said, “would be perfect.”