As the title suggests, Graber's award-winning article traces the physical and emotional transformation of Altreche, a senior and goalie of the men's lacrosse team. Growing up in a Hispanic neighborhood in the Bronx, Altreche lost both of his parents to AIDS before he was 12, forcing him to move in with relatives. Altreche constantly bounced around from relative to relative-ranging from the Bronx to Virginia-missing months of school at a time and, as a result, falling behind in his education.
Nevertheless, determined to improve his ability to read, Altreche met with teachers and ultimately gained acceptance into a program called A Better Chance, which, according to its Web site, places intelligent, highly "motivated students of color from disadvantaged backgrounds … in educational environments that affirm and nurture their academic talent."
Altreche's new educational environment was the affluent, mostly white small town of Madison, Connecticut, where he excelled academically and took up football, wrestling and lacrosse.
Athletics immediately boosted his self-esteem, and after attending a lacrosse camp two summers in a row where he worked one-on-one with Amherst lacrosse coach Tom Carmean, Altreche matriculated at the College. At the College, Altreche has continued to excel in all facets of life, inspiring teammates, coaches and classmates along the way.
Although such a story ends in "triumph" rather than "tragedy," it was nevertheless a difficult story for Graber to write. "I became very emotionally attached in the [writing] process," he said. "About midway through I became very depressed because of all the hardships that Raul had to experience in his life. But in the end, it's a very uplifting story, and my spirits rose along with it."
Graber commented that one of the joys of the SID position is "the one-on-one contact with students and student-athletes," which has enabled him to establish wonderful relationships with student-athletes from a variety of backgrounds. In particular, writing feature stories, like his award-winning piece about Altreche, has allowed the former SID to "grow extremely close" to certain student-athletes and their families.
Graber's feature stories were part of his larger effort to promote the College's athletes by giving people "a unique view of the College through the eyes of its student-athletes." His award winning was not limited to his Altreche piece, however, as he earned District Athlete Profile of the Year runner-up for "From Hitting the Slopes to Frozen Ropes," and District General Feature of the Year for "Banner's Mad Dash Commemorated in Verse."
Ironically, the accomplished SID seemingly "stumbled into [the] sports information" profession following careers both playing and managing in baseball's minor leagues. After his managing stint with a Class A team in Glens Falls, N.Y. ended, Graber was unsure of what profession to pursue. Nevertheless, he was offered the job of assistant SID at his alma mater, the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. One year later, Graber became the head SID at the University of West Alabama, and after two years at UWA, he was hired as Amherst College's first full-time SID in 2000.
Graber believes that his experiences in professional baseball as both a player and a manager have enhanced his ability to understand the views of coaches and student-athletes alike. "I think my experience as an athlete, especially as one who depended on sports to feed his family at one point, has given me a unique perspective," he said. "I can truly relate when writing about a coach or an athlete."
The former professional baseball player's competitive streak plays a role in Graber's decision to participate in national writing contests. "We have the opportunity to put our work up against that of the largest sports information staffs in the nation," said Graber. "One way to look at it is that Amherst could never beat the University of Southern California in football, but we can certainly crank out features that are as good or better."
Unfortunately for the College's quest against all other SIDs in the nation, Graber was recently promoted from SID to the director of alumni and parent programs. Although his new position does not lend as naturally to one-on-one contact with students, Graber is upbeat about his new position.
"One of the things I cherished most about being the SID was the opportunity to represent the College on many different levels," said Graber. "As the director of alumni and parent programs, I'm able to take that aspect to a whole different level."