SALEM – For their exploits both in the classroom and their respective athletic fields, Braeden McDonald of Triton Regional and Cindy Shehu of Salem Academy have been chosen as the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for May. For information on McDonald and his interview, click here
Cindy Shehu – Salem Academy Charter School with Bill Newell
Shehu, by all accounts, will graduate as the most successful athlete in Salem Academy history.A three-sport standout (soccer, basketball, softball), Shehu hit .594 with 4 HR and 13 RBI while playing for the Navigators this spring. But also a 2,122-point scorer on the basketball court during her five-year high school career (including 8th grade), she has now shifted her focus to getting ready to play women’s college basketball at Salem State.
“I really love basketball the most just because it’s more active,” said Shehu. “I never really expected to score 2,000 points when I came in during eighth grade, especially when we lost some games with COVID. But after my junior year, that was really when it started to seem possible.”
And speaking more on that time during the pandemic, Shehu says that’s when she tried to make the most of an unfortunate situation and really hone her studying abilities. She holds a 3.40 GPA, has routinely been on the school’s high honor roll, and certainly didn’t slouch her senior year with three AP classes (biology, literature, psychology) along with a College Prep Statistics class.
“During COVID it gave us a lot of time to ourselves,” said Shehu. “You really had to focus on homework, because there could be a lot of distractions being at home all the time. But after COVID, I found it was pretty easy to sort of keep that routine to make sure everything got done.”Shehu also worked on a Service Learning project during the winter, organizing a Salem Police vs. Salem Academy Senior Basketball game to help strengthen the school and police communities.
