(Photo courtesy of facebook.com – the campus celeb and myself!)
Conor Gilbert is a 20-year old Lancaster native who has a personality that shines just like his favorite color yellow. Conor is a junior financial economics major who wants to visit Ireland and Australia before he dies and would eventually like to go to the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. He has an old English sheep dog named Bentley and his favorite music is dance/house. He also is a member of the golf team who just recently won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title. Conor took first place as an individual and the team took first place overall.
E: How long have you been involved with golf?
C: I started playing golf when I was six years old. I probably started competing around nine or ten years old. I was really into soccer growing up and was actually pretty decent, but each year I became more focused on golf and less so on soccer.
E: What got you started with pursuing collegiate golf?
C: I love the game and I love to compete. I grew up watching Tiger in his prime and was amazed at what he could do. His competiveness inspired me to be more competitive and to improve my game. I played a bunch of junior tournaments growing up and did not want to stop playing competitive golf after high school, so I knew I wanted to play in college.
E: How many tournaments have you participated in/won?
C: Oh my. I have no idea how many tournaments I have played in. I want to say around 125-150ish including junior and high school tournaments. I have played in roughly 30 tournaments here at Millersville. I think I won two junior tournaments and I just recently won two tournaments here, including PSAC’s.
(photo courtesy of facebook.com)
E: How did it feel to win PSAC’s individually and as a team?
C:I honestly can’t put one word on how incredible the PSAC victories are. As a team I just couldn’t be happier for the guys. We don’t care what anyone else thinks about us. All we know is that we believe in each other and that we can beat anyone when we come together as a team. Letting our bid to nationals slip through our fingers last spring has certainly taught our team a great deal and is a major reason why we were able to close out PSAC’s this year. On the individual aspect of things, I don’t really like talking about it. I am more excited for this team and what we have done. I couldn’t have done this without my teammates believing in me and pushing me. It is a very overwhelming experience for me. I am a humble individual and it is odd having all of this spotlight on me. I worked so d*mn hard to win and get to this point in my career. The fact that I have accomplished this, I have a new found confidence in myself and am excited to see what the spring has in store for the team and myself.
E: Are you involved in any other organizations on campus?
C: Besides the golf team, the only other organization I am a part of is SAAC. It stands for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. A group of athletes meet once a month to discuss ways to market and represent our athletic department and school.
E: If you could have lunch with any person (living or dead), who would it be and why?
C: This is an incredibly difficult question for me to answer. I would say Arnold Palmer. He is one of the greatest golfers of all time and from what I have heard, one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I would love to talk with him and just get as much advice for life and golf as possible.
E: Why did you choose Millersville?
C: It was a weird road for me to choose Millersville. I had my mind set on Virginia Tech. I applied for early decision and had no intention to play golf there. I had a terrible senior year with golf in high school and was at odds with the sport. I actually did not want to play again, until I got a call from coach Vandegrift. He gave me the opportunity to play golf here at MU. I visited the campus and really enjoyed what I saw. After that it was a done deal.
E: What are you biggest pet peeves?
C: I hate people who don’t text back. I also don’t like rain boots.
E: What is your favorite quote?
C: I have many, but mine right now is: Achievement – shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.
(Photo courtesy of facebook.com)