By CHRISTIAN HUNT
Contributing Writer
Patrick Hickey II is from Jefferson Valley, N.Y. where he attended and graduated from Lakeland High School. He’s a mathematics major with a focus in adolescence education and a goalie on the men’s lacrosse team. He discovered Saint Rose through the college fair his high school hosted in his junior year. By the time his senior year came he was working on his top five list and was trying to pick a fifth option.
“Saint Rose just popped into my head and seemed like a good option,” said Hickey. As he did further research he found out that Saint Rose was the perfect fit for him.
Hickey is quiet and is commonly recognized by his hairstyle. Hickey has a mullet similar to the one Joe Dirt wears. The reason he has one, Hickey said, is because he’s a big hockey fan and see’s many players wearing one.
“I just love how they look and think they’re funny,” said Hickey.
Hickey was a three-sport athlete where he lettered in football two times, wrestling four times, and lacrosse two times. He flourished on the mat where he was a varsity captain, he placed in multiple sectional championships, and won a few local tournaments. He was a Joe Garcia award recipient in football.
At Lakeland High School, Hickey was active in clubs outside of sports. He held various roles in student government. His junior year he was the public relations director where his daily tasks included finding new ways to market school events and organize the events. In his senior year he was promoted to a cabinet member position where he had more power and control over organizing the events than he did previously as a public relations director. He was also a four-year math club member which is quite fitting since he’s an adolescence mathematics education major.
His decision to come to The College of Saint Rose was heavily based on the academic offerings. Hickey is an adolescence mathematics education major because he was a strong math student and he was always fascinated by it all. He looks to be just like his mother who too is an elementary math teacher. Hickey also really liked the fact of how Saint Rose supplies approximately 70 percent of the teachers in the Capital District.
Hickey also comes from a long line of athletes. Hickey’s uncle was a member of the varsity lacrosse team at Penn State. His mother also was a member of the varsity soccer team at the University of Albany. He flourished on the wrestling mat but he didn’t want to no longer continue that because he wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and play college lacrosse.
What ultimately made him choose to continue being a student athlete in college, he said, other than wanting to follow in his uncle’s footsteps, is that he wanted to be able to do something that will keep him busy and in shape.
Saint Rose offered a competitive environment in and out of the classroom that Hickey was looking for. It was also crucial because he was able to still play lacrosse and pursue his five-year masters program.
“Hickey is a great player, who grinds everyday at practice,” said Jordyn Marchiano, graduate student and captain of the lacrosse team. He’s a great role model for many with how hard he works on the field and in the classroom.”
Hickey is loved by all on the team. He is often called the team favorite by some of his teammates.
“Hickey is the man,” said Greg Walsh, a sophomore teammate of Hickey’s. “He’s a very relaxed kid, who is super friendly, and is a great teammate.”
His former high school teammate and current college teammate Mike Castelli also spoke highly of Hickey’s character.
“He’s a super selfless person who will do anything to help his team get a victory,” said Castelli.
