March 30, 2010

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Each week, the staff at GoLeopards.com catches up with a student-athlete. Today we feature a special Spotted on Campus Q&A with sophomore men's soccer player Eli Hajjar. In addition to filling fans in on his soccer career and academic work at Lafayette, he also helps spread the word about an important cause in which his men's soccer team is involved.

Can you give a brief overview of how the team's involvement with the St. Baldrick's Shave-a-Thon? How did it get started, how did the soccer team get involved, whose idea was it? Mike Klemens made the team aware of St. Baldrick's Shave-A-Thon. When we heard about it, we knew right away it was a good cause worth getting involved with, so we brought it with Mike's help to Lafayette last year. This year we hope to expand the campus' involvement to get more sponsors and more "shavees" so we are trying to spread the word as much as possible.

What's your involvement with Student Movement Against Cancer (SMAC)? I'm not directly in SMAC, but for St. Baldrick's I'm one of a few guys in charge of PR, so we're making an effort to spread the word about St. Baldrick's campus-wide so we can get a bigger turnout and raise more money than last year.

What's your major and what do you like about your major? I'm a Chemical Engineering major. What I like about it most is that everything is either right or wrong, as opposed to other classes where answers are more open to opinion. In engineering, you either know it or you don't.

Best out-of-classroom academic experience? I enjoyed the brown-bag talks that were given at the beginning of this semester about the earthquake in Haiti. I'm half-Haitian and had been in Haiti until four days before the earthquake and have a lot of family there so it hit close to home.

What is your role on the team? Hopefully bringing some creativity to the field, and making jokes to keep everyone loose off the field.

What is your earliest soccer memory? Playing soccer in my front yard with my dad at age four.

What can you take from your sport and incorporate into everyday life? The importance of time-management. Playing a sport teaches you to be smart with your time, and to know when to study, when to sleep, and when you can afford to go out and have fun, because time is at a premium.

What do you still wish to accomplish (on or off the field)? I want to win a Patriot League Championship before I graduate.

Sport you would play other than your own: An individual sport I'd like to be good at either tennis or golf, but I'm no good at either.

Something about me that others would be surprised to hear is: I'm half-Haitian, half-Syrian. No one can ever guess my heritage.

Best road trip I ever took was... Definitely to Myrtle Beach right after high school graduation for senior week.

How did you spend your spring break? Went home to Fairfax, Va., then visited some friends who go to school in Virginia who weren't on spring break.

Favorite midnight snack? Anything from Wawa.

Favorite TV show as a kid? Sportscenter

Word Association:

Lafayette: Fun

Lafayette-Lehigh: I hate Lehigh

Soccer: Fun

Teammates: My dudes

Offseason: Racquetball and lifting for beach season