INTRODUCING … Salisbury senior distance runner John Fitzgerald, who is a two-time second-team All-CAC runner and a three-time member of the All-CAC Academic team.  Fitzgerald is hoping to help the Gulls to their second-straight CAC crown, and sixth in the last seven years, at the conference championship meet Oct. 29 at John Rudy Park in York, Pa.

Briefly, what is your background in the sport you play?  I took up cross-country and track early on in high school, and have been running every year since.

What is your favorite spot on campus?  Our Guerreri Student Center has big over-stuffed leather couches that I always use for naps before practice. It’s also hosted a number of cross-country ping-pong matches, none of which I ever win.

Outside of your home and campus, where is your favorite place visit?  After freshman year, I was able to work and train for a summer in southwestern Colorado, which was a beautiful change of scenery. As a runner, it was great to have endless networks of trails and also no humidity.

Other than your team, what organization (s) do you participate in (on campus or off campus)?   I am a member of the Student Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) and the psychology honor society.

Briefly describe the most memorable experience during your collegiate athletic career.  I think our team’s 2^nd place finish at track & field nationals in 2010 was definitely one of the most exhilarating things we have all been a part of. We were not represented so much in quantity, but to see a handful of seniors perform so well at the national level was amazing.

What is the most important societal issue facing college students?  I think the lack of federal funding for high school seniors that are accepted into college but cannot afford it needs to be acknowledged. I understand the federal budget is tight and some programs need to be cut, but education cannot be limited on socioeconomic boundaries.

If you could change any one item in the world (in your personal life, school, community, amateur or professional sports, national/international issue, etc.), what would it be, why, and how would you do it?   I would really like to see running becme a more communal activity outside of high school and collegiate competition. I have always been surrounded by great people on every level of running, and I think it’s a sport that naturally attracts a positive atmosphere. Fostering it in the community is cheap, healthy, and can make people feel they are a part of something.

What is your major in college, and what is the most important thing you learned in that discipline?  I am a psychology and conflict analysis/dispute resolution double major, and I think there is a common theme of both in understanding others. Western, individualized culture encourages us to express ourselves, but so often we forget to stop, listen, and attempt to understand others’ perspectives.

Other than your family members, who was the most influential person in your life?  Dr. Brian Polkinghorn in our Conflict Analysis/Dispute Resolution I think has left the biggest impression on me. Working in mediation in some of the biggest international conflicts of our generation, he has been shot, had grenades thrown his way, and has to have a bodyguard often times when performing his job overseas. That’s doing what you love.

What is your favorite form of entertainment?  I have fallen asleep to ESPN radio every night for the past 10-15 years. My roommates find radio barbaric, and truthfully it’s probably about as old as I am, but it’s one of those things that makes my room feel like home.

What is your favorite source of information?  Our entire team is on twitter, which is a wealth of information. But seriously, it’s usually The Daily Show, Reddit, and NPR.

If you could give one piece of advice to elementary school children, what would that advice be?  Never outgrow the abilities to imagine and play. Play is a physical representation of being able to do things that aren’t physically possible at the time. If they keep these wishes and internalize what they want to be doing, they will flourish again when the child has the physical ability to perform them in real life. Don’t limit yourself.

Outside of the Capital Athletic Conference, who or what is your favorite sports person or team?  I’m a big Steeler fan. I’m from Baltimore, but my dad is a Pittsburgh native and he made sure we were raised accordingly.

Name three (3) people, real or fictional, living or dead, that you'd like to have dinner with?   Brian Fallon, who is a great rock/blues musician my favorite all time lyricist. Emil Zatopek, who won 5k, 10k, and the marathon in the 1952 Olympics because of his ability to not just run fast, but to pull off that many wins in a few days. The last would have to be Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., because of how he could regularly risk his life for a single belief in a common good.