Eli Larson
Eli Larson, a Mechatronics major from Greenville, is accomplishing more than he thought he would in college.
“I chose SUNY Canton because it was quiet and secluded,” he said. “Once I saw they had a degree I was interested in and I could play basketball at the same time, I was hooked. I know now I want to stay in St. Lawrence County after college.”
Eli is a 6’8” forward for the men’s basketball team and started in 23 of the 25 games he played in during the 2023-2024 season. He’s the second top-scoring player on the team with 305 points, and he picked up 185 rebounds.
“Getting to know all the athletes on campus has been great,” he said. “Being able to empathize with the workload of education and a sport bonds us.”
In addition to joining the Athletics community, he became a Resident Assistant. He also launched the spiritual club Axios, which hosts worship nights in the Kingston Theater. “It has been outstanding to see the number of students interested in attending and learning more about God,” he said.
Eli’s favorite faculty member is Dr. Lucas Craig, and his favorite course is Industrial Controls.
He said his father is a mechanical engineer and helped influence his decision to study Mechatronics. he advised me that automation is the way of the future. “He explained that the mechatronics program was multi-disciplinary and would give me skills in electrical, mechanical, and software engineering that were very valuable in today's age,” Eli said.