When rower, writer and recent graduate Phil MacNeal ‘20 logs into Zoom, the first thing you notice isn’t the recent Communication Studies graduate himself, but instead the striking poster right over his shoulder depicting a mechanical eye next to the text “Rift.” This striking image isn’t just a poster to MacNeal - it’s the cover of his debut novel, self-published during his time at Temple University. This poster also sheds light into his professional life, which, in addition to “author” and “athlete,” MacNeal was recently presented with another title by Temple University Athletics: the male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The award is given to one male and one female athlete every year, making MacNeal one of two honorees for this prestigious award in 2020. Though it is usually bestowed during the annual Stellas event ⁠—Temple sports’ awards ceremony⁠—all student-athlete awards were announced over social media this year due to COVID-19.

During the past four years at Klein College of Media and Communication, MacNeal focused on honing his craft as a writer. Beginning first in the journalism program, he changed his major to communication studies during his freshman year. He selected the contemporary media environments concentration, and also picked up a certificate in writing from the College of Liberal Arts by the end of his sophomore year.

“I knew I had more of a preference toward writing and the humanities when I came in, so I wanted to hone that craft as much as I could,” he says.

In addition to his efforts focusing on his writing, he added that being a member of the men’s crew team helped him as a writer, as he learned to apply the mental tools he got from rowing, such as determination, teamwork and perseverance, in the classroom and in his novel.

“I think the biggest thinking I took away from [crew] is how it kind of sharpened my mind as well as my body,” he says. “Because the mindset it puts you in helps you to overcome a lot of adversity, and work with people from different backgrounds and stuff like that, and it just got me in a really good headspace to really attack everything I did.”

During his four years of disciplining his body and mind, MacNeal says that his novel naturally grew out of his interests. With an incredible amount of hard work and perseverance, he managed to excel both as an athlete and as an author.

“Phil is really extraordinary,” Associate Director of Academics at the Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes Tara Evans in a celebratory video on Twitter. “To be a member of the men’s crew team and develop 20+ hours of time to his sport and also be very involved in Klen College of Media and Communication, and on top of that to have written a manuscript is just really, ‘oh wow.’ I’m looking forward to really seeing his mark on society and the things he’s gonna do.”

Now that his manuscript has been self-published and is available in Kindle and eBook format, MacNeal is looking toward the future. He says he would like to write more for the Rift series, but is keeping his timeline fairly loose. In addition, he is looking to find a full-time writing position to supplement his creative writing. With the current job market responding to COVID-19, he says that digital opportunities and LinkedIn have been valuable resources as an independent writer.

“I’m really just trying to take it day by day, and trying to not look too far ahead.