A “quintessential student leader” is what Charles Essig has been during his tenure at St. Joseph’s College (Patchogue, New York), but that phrase still does not do justice to his list of accomplishments. Add that to his impressive career on the golf course and you have the model of the perfect student-athlete.
During Essig’s career on the golf course, he served as a team captain during the 2010-11 campaign, was a member of the 2007 Skyline Conference Champion team that went to the NCAA Division III Golf Championship Tournament, contributed to three second place Skyline Championship finishes, and was a three-time All-Skyline Conference member. His athletic achievements also resulted in honors as a four-time All-Academic team member, a team Golden Eagle Award, being honored twice with the Virginia Therese Callahan Award for academic excellence (presented to the athlete with the highest GPA in their junior or senior year), and a four-year stint as the golf team’s representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
In the classroom and on campus, Essig shined even brighter as a Math Secondary Education major with a minor in Business Administration. Academically, he was a member of the Dean’s List each semester maintaining a GPA of 3.91, was a member of the Sigma Iota Chi (the College’s honor society), Delta Epsilon Sigma (the national scholastic honor society for undergraduates, faculty and alumni of colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition), and the Kappa Mu Epsilon Math Honor Society on which he served terms as vice president and treasurer.
Essig always found time in his busy schedule to contribute to the betterment of his fellow students, including this past year as the president of the Student Government Association and a three-year stint as treasurer, managing over $1 million in student activities funding. He was also as a member of the Dean’s Service Circle, the College Advisory Council, the Food Committee, served as the chairperson of the Budget Committee, and was a member and officer of the Sigma Xi Epsilon fraternity.
Essig also served as an active and contributing member of 11 different community service projects on and around the Patchogue campus. Amazingly enough, he found time to work as a golf caddy at the Bridgehampton Golf Club for four years and complete his student teaching in the Sachem School District.
Essig lives in Medford, New York with his parents, Ed and Marie, and sister, Kimberly, 20, a junior soccer player at St. Joseph’s College.
