Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh (B.S. ’09, M.S. ’11) is running with a purpose. Sure, he’s training to become the first Jordanian marathoner with a successful qualifying time to compete in the Olympics, but for Alkhawaldeh there’s more at stake. He wants young people, especially those in the Middle East, to realize what a student-athlete can accomplish beyond college, and how running can, in its own way, bring together people of different races and cultures. That might sound like a tall order, but Alkhawaldeh takes it in stride. “I didn’t start competing as a runner until my sophomore year in college,” he says. At NYIT, he recognized the dual benefits of long-distance running. “It’s an individual sport, but you get to meet other people. When you run a 5K or a 10K, you’re lining up next to all different types of people with the same goal. It’s an amazing sport.” While earning his degrees at NYIT, Alkhawaldeh racked up an impressive number of accolades. NYIT named him Star Athlete of the Year in 2008...