Lou Maturo has two loves in life: a love for English and the literary works of Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and a love for competing in the 10,000-meter run.

Balancing the two has been a challenge for Maturo, a senior majoring in creative writing and English, as well as a member of the UA men’s track and field team.

“”We ran a lot of miles,”” he said. “”It was a big commitment.””

Born and raised in New York, Maturo was drawn to study at the UA because of the strong athletics program and the English department.

An avid reader, Maturo had always been a writer on his own time. He said he wanted to try writing in a classroom to get direction from professionals, so he decided on two majors he said complemented each other.

In addition to being a dedicated student and maintaining a high grade point average, Maturo ran the 5,000m and 10,000m events for the track team the past three years. During his freshman year, Maturo became a member of the Tricats, the UA’s triathlon team.

Maturo said having a crammed schedule forced him to learn beneficial skills for the future.

“”It helped me to learn time management,”” he said.

Maturo also found time to give back to the community. He did community service and leadership for track and cross-country and is also the president of the student-athlete advisory board.

As president, Maturo led and organized community service events and outreach.

“”He is an outstanding classmate, wonderful individual, and gives back to all the communities he is associated with,”” said Bridget Radcliff, senior academic advisor of the English department.

Now that Maturo is graduating, he said he would miss the Tucson weather, as well as “”my relationships with my professors on an intellectual level.””

“”The English department has treated me well,”” he said.

Maturo plans on attending graduate school at New York University.