Alicia Berman Named Scholar Athlete of the Month for January

When first looking at colleges, Alicia Berman’s father was the one who pushed her to look at the University of Cincinnati. Now that she’s here, she says she loves UC and couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. “All the resources that I need are right here at UC, and I’m really glad I’m here,” she says.

For the swimmer, time is the hardest thing to manage, but she admits that it has always come natural to her. As a senior in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, she is continually looking to improve her swimming with the help of her coach, Monty Hopkins. Last year, she swam third leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed fifth at BIG EAST Championships with a mark of 1:33.70 on Feb. 17, 2011. She placed second in 100-yard freestyle with the time of 55.52 seconds vs. Kentucky and Virginia Tech on Jan. 29, 2011 and led off the 400-yard freestyle relay ‘B’ team to first-place finish at Kenyon Quad Meet on Jan. 21-22, 2011. In addition to her achievements in the pool, Alicia says her grades are her best academic achievements. “I take pride in going to class. I work hard. I want the 4.0, and I try to get it. It’s been hard but it’s been done.”

Balancing school and swim is not something new to Alicia. At Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio, she was a four-year letter winner, four-year state qualifier and school record holder in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. While named All-American her freshman, sophomore and junior years, four-time All-Ohio performer, and academic All-American, she also graduated Summa Cumae Laude and was a four-year Honor Roll student.

Daughter of Mitch and Beth Berman, Alicia is double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology which are both in the McMicken College of Arts and Science. After college, she plans on working one-on-one with kids with disabilities.  Alicia shares that this passion to help comes from her sister who has autism. Alicia has previously volunteered her time in the field but is looking forward to getting out of the classroom and starting work.

When asked for her advice to fellow students, especially other student athletes, Alicia states, “Focus on what you want to achieve in college.  If you want to achieve excellence in the classroom, it’s definitely possible. If you want to achieve excellence in the pool, field, or wherever, that’s also definitely possible. It’s just a matter of wanting to do it and finding a way to do it.”