天美传媒

by Stephen Levine

Whether he鈥檚 taking the court as a 6-foot-3 guard for the basketball team or working in the laboratory to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in physics, Randolph 鈥淩.J.鈥� Samuels 鈥�13 has made the most of his time at .

In February 2013, Mr. Samuels received the Cecil Watkins Memorial Award, bestowed annually by the Adelphi athletics department upon the male and the female student-athlete who excel in the classroom, in athletic competition and in the community. Mr. Samuels accepted the award from Valerie Watkins, whose late husband played basketball at Adelphi and then worked for the for 17 years. He is enshrined in the .

During Adelphi鈥檚 2012鈥�2013 basketball season, Mr. Samuels, a Trenton, New Jersey, native, finished third on the Panthers in field-goal accuracy, making 44 percent of his shots. He played high school basketball at , where he helped his team reach the state finals as a sophomore and was voted the team鈥檚 Most Valuable Player as a senior.

Mr. Samuels selected Adelphi after visiting the Garden City campus. As part of the (S.T.E.P.), he is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in education.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a good student-to-teacher ratio [10:1] and I get to interact with the same students on a daily basis,鈥� Mr. Samuels said in explaining why he enjoys taking classes at Adelphi.

Mr. Samuels decided on a career in education during his high school years when he traveled to a village in with a religious group that held ministries there for children.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to show that there are people in the world who care about them,鈥� Mr. Samuels said. 鈥淚t actually gave me a better insight into what I wanted to do, which is to find a way to make kids smile.鈥�

Seeing what people in less fortunate circumstances had to endure made him grateful for what he had, said R.J., whose initials stand for Randolph Jr. His parents, Randolph Sr. and Connie, have another son and two daughters.

Mr. Samuels is determined to earn his graduate degree in the and achieve success in the professional world. He said being part of an athletic team while in college was easy once he learned the importance of concentration and time management.

鈥淧ut academics first,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on’t get behind in your work and always keep in contact with your professors.鈥�

Mr. Samuels said he hopes to become a physical education teacher while coaching a sports team. For now, he鈥檚 taking classes, working as an assistant coach for the Panthers basketball team and enjoying all that being at a university just 23 miles from , the world鈥檚 cultural capital, has to offer.

鈥淚t’s been a good experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 get to meet a lot of people from New York and have good friends and experiences that will last a lifetime.鈥�