A native of Durham, North Carolina, Lindsey Ruderman has never backed down from a challenge. She began her athletic career as a gymnast, but multiple injuries and 16 weeks in a back brace at the age of 15 made her pivot to diving to achieve her goal of competing in college.
With only a few years of diving experience, she completed a dive (reverse 2.5 on the 1-meter board) that no woman had done at the NCAA Division III Championships. Ruderman went on to win a national title on both the 3-meter and 1-meter boards as a sophomore and finished her career as a six-time CSCAA First Team All-American and a six-time NESCAC Champion. She was also named the CSCAA Diver of the Year in 2019 and was the NESCAC Diver of the Year in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
As her diving career came to an abrupt end, she redirected her focus to helping her community. She put the knowledge gained from her STEM classes at Amherst and volunteered to help with COVID relief efforts working as a program coordinator with the Triangle Nonprofit Volunteer & Leadership Center in Durham, N.C. This past fall, she worked as a research assistant In orthopedics at Duke University. The numerous injuries and rehab piqued her interest in the orthopedics field.
In the Amherst community, Ruderman was a grading assistant and peer tutor in the Amherst Mathematics Department, participated in the Amherst LEADS program, and represented the women’s swimming & diving team on Amherst SAAC.
As a senior, Ruderman received the Howard Hill Mossman Trophy, given annually to the member of the senior class who has brought the greatest honor in athletics to Amherst. She was also awarded the Psi Upsilon Prize, which is given to the member of the graduating class who is considered preeminent in scholarship, leadership, athletics, and character. As a first-year student-athlete, she garnered the Gordon B. Perry Memorial Award.
Following her graduation from Amherst with a degree in mathematics and a 3.72 GPA, Ruderman, a three-time NESCAC All-Academic and two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, has secured a position as a research assistant in sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
