By Joe Vanden Acker
Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2002
The laws of time really do apply to Tom Conti. He operates on the same 24-hour day as the rest of us. The question is, how does he get everything done in those few hours?
Conti, '02, is a standout on the fields of play at Lawrence University and in its classrooms. An all-conference selection in both hockey and soccer, he also is an academic All-American.
The Dunwoody, Ga., native balances the demands of athletics and the classroom and then adds a commitment to the community, giving his free time as a volunteer in a multitude of places.
"There are times when I stay up late to get stuff done, or when I wish I didn't have to go to practice," he says, "but I think playing sports helps with your time management. I have to get things done, because I'm at the ice rink from nine to midnight. If you're starting something at midnight, you're in big trouble.
"I think sports has helped me understand my capabilities," he adds.
Head hockey coach Dave Ruhly believes Conti is capable of just about anything he sets his mind to.
"He's so goal-driven," Ruhly says, "I don't think he has a spare moment in the day. Every day, he has something on his agenda he has to get done."
The good work Conti has been doing at Lawrence caught the attention of the people at the Hockey Humanitarian Foundation. He was named one of four national finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented each year to college hockey's finest citizen. Finalists are chosen based on their character, commitment to the game, community service, and academic achievement.
Conti came up short in his bid to win the award, which went to two-time finalist Rocky Reeves of Buffalo State.
"To say I was a finalist, one of the top four guys in the nation, means that what I decided to get done, I was able to do," he says. "I didn't do those things to get the award, but to be recognized for them makes it all the more satisfying."
A double major in math and computer science, Conti has a 3.85 grade point average. He has been involved in community work since 1996, when he tutored Vietnamese children, a task he continued until 1998. He has been a volunteer at the Appleton Boys and Girls Club since 1999, participated in the Adopt-A-School tutoring program in 1998 and '99, organized the Adopt-A-Family program for the hockey and soccer teams, and helped construct a Habitat for Humanity home in 1999. He also has served as a volunteer coach in both the Appleton Area Hockey Association and with Appleton youth soccer.
"In a way, being a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award embodies everything I have tried to achieve at Lawrence," Conti says. "One of things my parents stress is trying to see the whole picture. It's not about doing one thing exceptionally well; it's about doing a lot of things exceptionally well."
The motivation to excel came from his parents, Al and Victoria Conti, and his siblings, of which he is the youngest of seven. He singles out two older brothers, Pat and Tim; both were soccer players, and the latter also played hockey.
"I always tried to live up to my two older brothers," he says. "That was where my work ethic was born. I saw that, if you worked hard, there were definitely benefits."
Hockey teammate Stu Manning, '02, has been watching the work ethic for the past four years. He looks at Conti with wonder and curiosity at how he gets all parts of his busy life to fit together.
"He works hard at it, and it all just falls into place for him. I don't know how he does it in terms of time management. He just does it," Manning says.
Manning still can't comprehend the transition Conti makes from central defender on the soccer team to center forward on the hockey squad, and the short amount of time it took him to be in mid-season form.
"He plays soccer for three or four months, comes to hockey practice twice, and goes and plays in a game and scores two goals," Manning says incredulously. "Who can do that?"
Conti, a three-time All-Midwest Conference selection in soccer, also earned All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association second-team honors this past season. He leaves the Lawrence hockey program as the career leader in goals (40), assists (44), and points (84).
While he has been a celebrated athlete for the Vikings, Conti played on teams in transition or attempting to rebuild, so he has never experienced the joy of winning a championship on the collegiate level. That may eat at him a bit, but he knows it will not be what he takes from his athletic experience.
"I would definitely give up all the individual awards to be a conference champ or to play in the NCAAs," he says. "I've had a lot of individual success, but no teams I played on had a 25-0 season. There's a lot to learn from a season where you're 2-13 or you have a losing record.
"In 15 years, I'm going to remember the guys on the team and having fun with the game."
Conti is quick to sing the praises of Ruhly and men's soccer head coach Blake Johnson and the direction of both programs. Players like Conti and Manning formed the foundation on which to build success.
"It would be extremely rewarding to look back in five years and see Lawrence is on top of Division III in soccer and hockey," he says.
With varsity athletics behind him, Conti began concentrating on graduation and the world of work. He is set to join a computer software company in Madison.
He remarks that all the highs and lows of school and sports, the wins and losses, really taught him one thing -- how to handle life beyond college.
"I couldn't imagine a better career in the classroom and the sports fields," Conti says. "Everything I've accomplished at Lawrence has been incredible. I don't think about it because it's hard to believe. I think that's why Lawrence has been such an incredible fit for me."