Ambler Scholar-Athlete Program
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Joseph Weisberg '21 has been announced as Haverford's 2021 recipient of the William W. Ambler '45 Award. That honor is presented by the Haverford College Department of Athletics to the senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average.
Ambler honorees must have participated and started in at least one sport throughout their college career, and have demonstrated commitment, sportsmanship and leadership. Weisberg is the third recipient from the men's lacrosse team in the past four years, joining former teammates Jack Sollee '18 and Ben Frost '19.
Joseph Weisberg
Sport: Men's Lacrosse
Hometown: Plantation, Florida
Double Major: History & Spanish
Head Coach: Nick Taylor
Advisors: Ariana Huberman, James Krippner, David Harrington Watt
Faculty Liaison: David Owens
An individual's beginning in sports is often times a family affair and this is certainly the case for Joseph Weisberg. As the youngest of three brothers, Weisberg told his parents that he wanted to play lacrosse just like his siblings before he was even old enough to play. That was just the start of a lifelong connection to the game that has seen Weisberg help the Fords to the Centennial Conference Tournament, be named a team captain, and most recently be honored as Haverford's William W. Ambler '45 Award recipient.
"I figured out pretty quickly that I wanted to go to a small liberal arts college and find a place to play lacrosse," explained Weisberg. Although the move was over 1,000 miles north from his Westown Warriors Youth Lacrosse team in South Florida, Weisberg found a second home at Haverford with his teammates for the next four years.
"When I visited Haverford, I was really impressed with how much the boys on the team genuinely cared for one another. I could tell they accepted each one of their teammates for who they were and helped bring out the best in one another," explained Weisberg. "I've been really lucky to have such an outstanding group of people support me through the last four years. My family, teammates, coaches, and professors have really helped me find my way."
Weisberg was doubly challenged in his academic demands as he carried a double major in history and Spanish, which entailed writing two senior theses. With the guidance of professor David Harrington Watts, Weisberg was able to help develop a course entitled "Ethical Struggles in Catastrophic Times: Quakers' Responses to the Holocaust." In addition to completing a double major and competing in lacrosse, Weisberg found time to work as a Spanish teaching assistant, peer tutor, treasurer on the Bi-Co Chabad Student Board, and member of the Quaker Studies Working Group.
That schedule would be enough to overwhelm almost any student, but it was all of those activities that helped keep Weisberg's priorities in sight. "I figured out how to create priorities within my academic and athletic workloads, so that I knew what had to get done and by when. I also try to prioritize rest so that I can bring focus to whatever activity I'm doing at the moment. I think lacrosse actually helped me succeed academically because it built in a much-needed break in my day. I'm usually pretty focused when I sit back down to do schoolwork after practice, even if I had trouble focusing earlier in the day."
That determination to succeed in all aspects of his Haverford experience has certainly caught the attention of his professors. "Joe has been one of the brightest and kindest students I have ever taught," said Weisberg's advisor and Associate Professor of Spanish Ariana Huberman. "His outstanding performance in my classes and in the process of writing his thesis for the Spanish Department reveal his solid work ethic, honest curiosity, and wholehearted dedication. Joe has a gift for intellectual engagement and he is an excellent writer. I was very impressed with the progress he made throughout the semester. He also has a big heart- our meetings often ended with our chatting about life and the world. I look forward to seeing Joe develop into an accomplished scholar."
Weisberg has certainly given everything he has to the Fords. "It has been my pleasure to coach Joe Weisberg. His passion, enthusiasm, and personality will be hard to replace," stated head coach Nick Taylor. "Anyone involved with our program will agree that Joe brought a certain level of positivity and energy to every practice. He plays a selfless position and routinely raised the bar for our entire team. I am most impressed because Joe was able to maintain this mindset while managing the academic requirements of a double major and work outside of lacrosse. To me, Joe's career shows the potential of any Haverford scholar-athlete and he will always be an example of academic and athletic excellence within our program."
The cancellation of spring sports was especially impactful to Weisberg who was starting to see regular time on the field as a goalie during his junior season. Even with the abrupt halt to his career, Haverford's captain will certainly have the memories of this family for the rest of his life. "I don't remember every game we've played over the last four years, but I still remember the comeback win against Swarthmore that sent us to the Centennial Conference playoffs my first-year. There's a picture that's circulated of one of our fellow goalies, Will Fox '19, on his knees in awe at what just happened. It was a sweet moment."
As for the future, Weisberg has already been admitted to graduate school at Brandeis University. While there, he will be pursuing a PhD in history.
HAVERFORD COLLEGE Class of 2021 – "Ambler Scholar-Athletes"
In addition to Ambler Award winner Joseph Weisberg, 15 of Haverford's most distinguished scholar-athletes (as well as their academic or thesis advisors, coaches, and faculty liaisons) are being honored for their own accomplishments and as representatives of the many student-athletes who have excelled during their four years at Haverford.
- Nathan Akerhielm (Men's Cross Country; Track & Field): Major: Mathematics/Minors: Spanish and Economics
Advisors: Weiwen Miao and Jeff Tecosky-Feldman; Head Coach: Tom Donnelly; Team Faculty Liaison: Bruce Partridge - Mali Axinn (Women's Cross Country; Track & Field; Tennis):Major: Biology/Minors: Psychology and Health Studies
Advisors: Amy Cooke and Rachel Hoang; Head Coaches: Fran Rizzo and John Taft; Team Faculty Liaisons: Carola Binder and Molly Farneth - Isabel Garcia Canning (Women's Lacrosse): Major: Political Science/Minor: Spanish
Advisor: Anita Isaacs; Head Coach: Katie Zichelli; Team Faculty Liaison: Lou Charkoudian - Ethan Donlon (Men's Lacrosse):Major: Physics/Minor: German
Advisor: Walter Smith; Head Coach: Nick Taylor; Team Faculty Liaison: Dave Owens - Saede Eifrig (Women's Soccer; Track & Field): Major: Anthropology/Minor: Arabic/Concentration: Middle East and Islamic Studies
Advisors: Zainab Saleh and Zolani Ngwane; Head Coaches: Jamie Schneck and Fran Rizzo; Team Faculty Liaisons: Ken Koltun-Fromm and Carola Binder - Jack D. Fanikos (Men's Cross Country; Track & Field): Major: Classics
Advisors: Radcliffe Edmonds and Deborah Roberts; Head Coach: Tom Donnelly; Team Faculty Liaison: Bruce Partridge - Jonathan Frost (Men's Lacrosse): Major: Physics/Concentration: Electrical Engineering
Advisors: Walter Smith and Suzanne Amador Kane; Head Coach: Nick Taylor; Team Faculty Liaison: Dave Owens - Molly Marie Hawkins (Women's Cross Country; Track & Field): Major: Religion/Minor: Psychology/Concentration: Peace, Justice, and Human Rights
Advisors: Anne McGuire and Ken Koltun-Fromm; Head Coach: Fran Rizzo; Team Faculty Liaison: Carola Binder - Pranav Krishnan (Men's Tennis): Major: Economics/Minor: Mathematics
Advisors: Richard Ball and Giri Parameswaran; Head Coach: Brendan Kincaid; Team Faculty Liaison: Saleha Jilani - Jacob Landsberg (Men's Cross Country; Track & Field): Major: Physics/Minor: History
Advisors: Suzanne Amador Kane and Walter Smith; Head Coach: Tom Donnelly; Team Faculty Liaison: Bruce Partridge - Allyson Lynch (Field Hockey): Major: Economics/Minors: Statistics and Classics
Advisors: Giri Parameswaran and Carola Binder; Head Coach: Jackie Cox; Team Faculty Liaison: Erin Schoneveld - Hailey Morris (Women's Lacrosse): Major: Psychology/Minor: Neuroscience
Advisor: Laura Been; Head Coach: Katie Zichelli; Team Faculty Liaison: Lou Charkoudian - Brett Mozarsky (Men's Soccer): Major: Chemistry/Concentration: Biochemistry
Advisors: Karin Akerfeldt and Lou Charkoudian; Head Coach: Zach Ward; Team Faculty Liaison: Casey Londergan - Kaito Nakatani (Cricket): Majors: Mathematics and Computer Science/Minors: Economics and Statistics
Advisors: David Lippel, Dianna Xu, and Weiwen Miao; Head Coach: Kamran Khan; Team Faculty Liaison: Saleha Jilani - Julia Pascarella (Women's Lacrosse): Major: Biology/Minor: Environmental Studies
Advisor: Rachel Hoang; Head Coach: Katie Zichelli; Team Faculty Liaison: Lou Charkoudian
Notes About Haverford College's 2021 Ambler Scholar-Athletes
- 14 different teams represented
- 13 different majors, 12 different minors, 4 concentrations
- 12 different states and one representative from Japan
- 11 team captains
- 69 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll selections
- 6 All-Centennial Conference honors; 7 Player of the Week honors
- 14 National Championship Appearances: Men's Cross Country (3 times), Men's Indoor Track & Field (3 times), Men's Outdoor Track & Field (2 times), Women's Cross Country (2 times), Women's Outdoor Track & Field (2 times), Men's Soccer (1 time), Women's Soccer (1 time)
- Every single person here has competed in a postseason event at least once
- Centennial Conference Team Championships: Men's Cross Country (2017, 2018), Men's Soccer (2018)
- Cricket won 2018 Philadelphia Intercollegiate Championship