Jon Spero - Men's Tennis

Jon Spero is a senior captain on the Carnegie Mellon men’s tennis team. Jon is pursuing a degree in business and will graduate in May.

Throughout my high school years, I never considered Carnegie Mellon as a serious option for college. The school was three blocks from my house and the mindset of a high school student is get as far away from home as possible. As a highly ranked junior tennis player, there is so much emphasis on going to a DI school. DIII is sometimes an afterthought.

Every year there’s a college showcase at Yale where coaches come to watch potential recruits. This took place in June after my junior year of high school. Coach Girard watched me play against a kid named James Muliawan. He spoke with both of us after the match and ever since then CMU went to the top of my list. I sat down and thought about what I really wanted in a school and CMU seemed like a great fit. Coach continued to recruit me throughout the summer and once I learned about the opportunities at Tepper plus the improving tennis program, I was set on CMU by October.

I’m very honored that my recruiting class consisting of myself, James [Muliawan], Niko [Ljuboja] and Ravi [Raghavan] put CMU tennis on the map as a national power. We went from a team that wasn’t taken seriously to a team that puts fear into top DIII programs. I’ve seen this program grow each season and every year we get closer to the ultimate goal of a national title. I absolutely love the team aspect of college tennis and I don’t want to leave it. CMU has been the perfect mix of top-notch academics and high-level tennis and I can’t give the school enough credit for preparing me to move on to the next stage of my life.

I’ve had the opportunity to be a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, which has allowed me to understand how an athletics department works. I feel very proud when I see CMU students present at athletic events because I know my hard work was a part of that. I’ve also transformed from a naïve freshman to the captain who talks to the rest of the team before each match. CMU has made me into a better person and has taught me the value of hard work and the importance of being a team player. I know that I’ll be able to use both of these skills for the rest of my life.

It’s not easy to balance the academics of one of the best business schools in the country with the practice schedule of one of the top tennis teams in the country. Entering college, my time management skills needed improvement and now I feel as though no amount of work can overwhelm me. It’s my wish that athletics become a bigger part of every day life at CMU and I’ve certainly seen that growth in my four years on campus.