A Difference Maker Who Was A Trailblazer
Last month, we lost Sue Petersen Lubow at the young age of 61.
Sue was the first woman head coach and the first woman athletic director at a United States military service academy. When she joined the Merchant Marine Academy right here on Long Island, she was appointed the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. Her teams produced two NCAA Division III national championships.
As athletic director for 25 years, Sue expanded the number of competitive sports at the academy. During 2014, when she was inducted into the academy’s athletic hall of fame, Sue said that she had not become an athletic director to break barriers.
“I chose my profession because I wanted to make a difference,” she stated that day, “not because I wanted to be a trailblazer, but in reflection—whether I like it or not—I guess I was.”
Sue grew up on Long Island. She was an All-American and swim team captain at Springfield College in Massachusetts. She earned her master’s degree in health education at Hofstra University.
Sue was a difference maker. She also was a trailblazer. Her successor as the academy’s athletic director is the only woman currently in that position at a service academy.
In paying tribute to Sue, each of us must continue to strive to make a difference in our work, in our communities and with our families. Each of us possesses that opportunity to blaze a unique trail.
Jim