By Jim Hague
It’s never easy being a bench player, especially when you’re on a winning team.
There’s no question that Kayla Gallo would love to play more on the Rutgers-Newark softball team, especially with the Scarlet Raiders enjoying their best season in recent memory, winning 17 games already, on pace to post the highest win total in school history.
But the senior outfielder has to settle these days for a game here and there, perhaps an at-bat or two. Still, Gallo’s attitude is as positive as it always was.
“As much as I want to play, I still try to contribute as much as I can,” Gallo said. “I’ve learned my role on the team and I try my hardest to do whatever I can.”
“Kayla loves the game more than anyone else,” Rutgers-Newark head softball coach Kristen Hunt said. “She’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever seen. She’s happy when she gets a chance to be on the field, but she’s happy off the field as well. She’s definitely a huge reason why we’re doing well this year. She’s definitely a good reason why we keep making steps toward getting better.”
Gallo has been a contributor when she gets a chance to play. She’s batting a team-best .419 with seven RBI and eight runs scored.
As much as Gallo has brought to the Scarlet Raiders on the field, her biggest contributions may come in the classroom.
“She’s our biggest leader academically,” Hunt said. “She’s enrolled in the Honors College and takes a lot of tough classes.”
For example, Gallo is currently carrying 23 credits in the second semester as a math major with the Honors College minor. She holds an impressive 3.2 grade point average. It was those achievements that enabled Gallo to gain acceptance in the prestigious graduate nursing program at Moravian College in Pennsylvania in the fall. More than 300 prospective students applied for entrance into the 16-month program and only 30 receive acceptance.
So how does someone carry 23 credits, maintain a solid GPA and play softball?
“It’s not easy,” Gallo said. “I can promise you that.”
But it’s her commitment to academics that drew Gallo to Rutgers-Newark in the first place, after her stellar career at Warren Hills High School in rural northwestern New Jersey.
“I’ve always put academics as a priority,” Gallo said. “I’ve been a big advocate for academics. I knew that Rutgers-Newark had a renowned academic reputation. I love being in the city. I know my parents had no idea what I was getting into, but I also loved playing softball and wanted the chance to play in college. So it was a win-win for me.”
Gallo was able to enroll in the Honors College right away, taking a load of accelerated courses from the outset.
Gallo didn’t know what she wanted to pursue after college, but some recent family tragedies spurred Gallo’s decision.
“I always wanted to be in the medical field,” Gallo said. “I lost three grandparents in the span of 14 months and spent a lot of time in the hospital with them. I saw the nurses give back to the families and was impressed. Just having the feeling of helping families in their time of need was going to be very satisfying to me.”
Gallo said that she will pursue becoming a trauma nurse at Moravian.
“I like being busy,” Gallo said. “I like doing things on the fly.”
“Kayla wears her heart on her sleeve,” Hunt said. “Her emotions are so contagious to the rest of us. She’s always vocal and always up. Her excitement is contagious. For our team, that’s very important.”
Hunt is in her third season as the head coach at R-N, so she inherited Gallo, but Hunt gained to have an appreciation for everything Gallo brought to the table.
“She’s always there,” Hunt said. “Her positivity is tremendous.”
And as part of her community service toward gaining her degree, Gallo has served as a tutor to the younger members of the Scarlet Raiders’ roster, helping them with a lot of their studies, especially math questions.
“She does help a lot with the math,” Hunt said. “She is always in study hall with the younger ones. The younger players look up to her. For Kayla to be able to do what she does in the Honors College all four years is truly remarkable. Kayla is the epitome of a student/athlete. She takes care of academics on her own while keeping her appreciation for her sport. She’s a positive role model.”
“Anytime anyone asks me to help them, I do it,” Gallo said. “Just getting the opportunity to help my friends is tremendous. I like hearing that they look up to me that much. When I hear that someone got an ‘A’ because I helped them, I feel like I took the exam as well. It’s so satisfying.”
So how does Gallo juggle it all?
“I like coffee,” Gallo laughed. “In high school, I was involved in so many clubs, so I was always busy. I learned time management at an early age. I guess I have to thank my parents (Jim and Kelly Gallo) for that. They helped me along the way to be able to manage my time. They’re the reason why I made it through four years here and got into nursing school.”
So while Gallo prepares for the end of her run at R-N, she’s preparing her final thesis.
“It’s basically about students who don’t take math classes before taking the standardized tests generally do poorly on the tests,” Gallo said. “They lack the algebraic understanding to take the test, so when they do take them, they are not prepared properly.”
But there is still some softball left to be played _ and when called upon, Gallo will be more than ready. The goal is for the Scarlet Raiders to qualify for the New Jersey Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
“That would be a dream,” Gallo said. “We just have to stay focused and keep playing well. We’ve been working so hard for four years. We take pride in the fact that we helped to change the program and turned it around. It would be the best feeling in the world to be part of the program that made history. It really has been an amazing season.”
The Scarlet Raiders have five doubleheaders remaining on the regular season schedule, all against NJAC foes. The Scarlet Raiders are currently in seventh place in the league and the top six finishers qualify for the playoffs. So the Scarlet Raiders definitely need some victories this week - and beyond.
“We can do it,” Gallo said. “We just have to stay focused.”
And as for her time at R-N as she prepares to become an RN?
“I would definitely re-do it all over again,” Gallo said. “I made the best of friends that I’ll share for a lifetime. I made relationships that are amazing. I did well in school and I don’t think my parents could have expected anything less of me. I had a great time here, but I’m very excited to be going on to Moravian.”
But before she does that, Kayla Gallo wants to make sure she leaves an imprint at Rutgers-Newark in whatever capacity that may be. Right now, a berth in the NJAC postseason would be a great start as well as a happy finish.
