SUCCESS STORIES
Tom Berry
Update Spring 2007
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Tom just earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Miami. He graduated Cum Laude with a 3.8 GPA and a double major in History and Motion Picture Production. He was also the recent recipient of the School of Communication Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Screen Writing Award. At the start of his junior year he was tapped into Omicron Delta Kappa, a prestigious national honor society. He is thinking about heading to Hollywood to work in the film business.
His athletic career was also a success. He began his collegiate running career at UM (a Division 1A program) as the top freshman and #2 distance runner overall on the cross country squad. In indoor and outdoor, Tom quickly established himself as the top performer on the team in the mile and 1500 meter events. During his sophomore year, he ran a 3:54.4 for the 1500, which was only 3 tenths of a second from breaking the UM school record of 3:54.1, and became the third fastest time ran by a UM athlete in school history for that event.
By his junior year Tom took over the #1 spot on the cross country squad at several meets and finally won his first collegiate cross country race as well as posting one of the top times in UM history for a 10K in Cross Country (31:48). His performances helped the team place in the top 10 in the NCAA South Region for the first time in several years.
While Tom's running career was cut short by a serious illness at the end of his junior XC season, not allowing him to compete in Cross Country his senior year due to lack of fitness from his time out with the illness, he did attempt a comeback for the indoor season. He made some strides but suffered a groin/hamstring injury at the end of the indoor season which effectively ended his collegiate track career.
While at Westhill, Tom graduated in the top 10% of his class with a 4.3 weighted GPA, was a member of the National Honor Society, and as a senior received both the FCIAC Scholar-Athlete Award and Connecticut CIAC Scholar Athlete Award (one male and one female from each HS in the state). Also, one of Tom's student films placed 2nd in the Director's View International Film Festival in Stamford.
On the field, Tom lettered all four years, was MVP for Cross Country his junior and senior years, MVP for indoor track his senior year, and MVP for outdoor track his junior and senior years. He was selected 1st Team All-FCIAC in indoor outdoor and cross country as a senior. One major accomplishment was his FCIAC Outdoor Championship in the Mile as a senior, after going undefeated in the mile all of that regular season.