PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

Within Macalester’s water polo community, Catherine Flint ’12 (Palo Alto, Calif.) was regarded as a key team leader. Last summer she was recognized nationally when the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) named her the 2012 Women’s Varsity Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Flint, a geography and educational studies major who graduated with a 3.6 GPA, finished her career as the water polo program’s third-highest all-time goal producer. She was a three-time CWPA Scholar-Athlete selection and a 2012 CWPA All-Division III First Team selection. She was also named the Dorothy Michel Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May.

The highest honor an active CWPA player can receive, the athlete of the year award recognizes an outstanding senior studentathlete who has achieved success in academics, athletics, and community service.

Flint’s ability to balance leading a varsity athletic program with handling Macalester’s rigorous academic workload helped her succeed, says coach Jennie Charlesworth. That focus and effort marked her leadership in the pool, too. “She had such a steady presence. The girls relied on her as a strong person in and out of the water,” Charlesworth says. “They looked to her for advice and support and learned from her and her talents. We’re going to have to build around what she helped create.”

Flint is now in Oakland, Calif., teaching sixth-graders in an after-school program through Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit that partners with middle schools to address the educational achievement gap. When her two-year commitment to Citizen Schools ends, she hopes to stay in the Bay Area teaching middle school math.

October 15 2012

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