A number of Colorado College hockey players would gather to work together on their mathematics homework, attempting to divine the answer to a complicated problem.
 
Finally, the question was answered and the Tigers were ready to tackle the next. That is, except for David Civitarese.
 
“We would be ready to move on and he would explain why the answer was correct for another 20 minutes,” said former team captain Nick Dineen, who graduated with an economics degree on May 21. “He loves school. A lot of us were just trying to get through the homework. It got a little annoying when he did that, but he also was a great help to us all.”
 
“I can see why that would bug them,” Civitarese said after chuckling at a recount of Dineen's story. “I just have fun learning so it is easy for me to do that.”
 
It is “a desire to understand everything,” as he put it, that propelled the 2012 physics graduate to become a three-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association Scholar-Athlete. To earn recognition, student-athletes must have completed at least one year at their school prior to the current season and must also have a grade-point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters, or a cumulative overall GPA of at least 3.5.
 
Civitarese did not limit his help to teammates.
 
Before signing an American Hockey League contract through the 2012-13 season with the Washington Capitals organization in md-March, he also found “extra time” to tutor mathematics and physics students for six to seven hours on Sundays following a home hockey series. That means the physics major with a minor in biochemistry, after playing the previous two nights, would get up at 7 or 8 a.m. on Sunday to finish his homework before assisting peers from 2 until 9 p.m.
 
“I just love learning, so it is easy for me to find time for academics,” said the Calgary, Alberta native who completed his coursework after Block Six with a 3.42 GPA. “The tutoring staff was very accommodating to my schedule. The support staff at CC was excellent and the coaches were very understanding when I had to be late for practice for classwork.”
 
Coaches are happy to be flexible when they know a player is juggling his schedule for the right reasons.
 
“We have as much sympathy for a guy who needs extra time because he is behind as someone who is on top of everything,” Tigers head coach Scott Owens said. “It is definitely easier with David. He would work his butt off and we knew he probably had a backup plan ready if we could not give him the time.”
 
Civitarese did an excellent job balancing academics and a demanding Division I sport with a six to seven-month season en route to earning team honors as top student-athlete for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. The former Tigers assistant captain also served as treasurer of the school's student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC), built a rocket for one of his physics classes and landed an internship at the world renowned Steadman orthopedics clinic in Vail last summer. He plans to become a medical doctor once his playing career concludes.
 
Clearly, Civitarese is driven to excel.
 
“I guess it goes back to my parents (Marco and Maria),” he said. “They instilled a love of hard work, and with that a drive to learn. They got everything they have by working their butts off. They are a great example to follow.”
 
“They raised him well,” Owens said. “They're intelligent people who have good follow-up and work ethics. David is a by-product of that.”
 
The hard work and smarts translated into a successful college playing career as a defensive forward with 26 points (14g,12a) in 121 career games for Colorado College.
 
It is easy to predict success in whatever path he chooses after his playing days end.
 
But he is not ready to consider that yet. He has high hopes for a larger defensive role with the Hershey (Pa.) Bears as he enters his first full season this fall. His intelligence and work ethic likely will pay off again.
 
“I am very excited about the opportunity,” he said. “The coaches said they are pleased they do not have to teach me something more than once before I pick it up.  I think that bodes well for me next year.”