HWS News
24 June 2025 • Alums Reporting with Purpose: Pete Lambos '18 Elevates Local Sports Journalism
At the Finger Lakes Times, Lambos blends a love for sports and storytelling — winning 12 statewide journalism awards in the process.
Since graduating from HWS, Pete Lambos ’18 has contributed to the Finger Lakes Times sports section, covering a variety of events ranging from local high school and collegiate games to professional sporting events. As the newspaper’s sports editor, Lambos recently won the Distinguished Live Sports Coverage, Distinguished News Supplement and Distinguished Sports Supplement awards from the New York News Publishers Association. Lambos won these awards for coverage of local athletics and contributions to news and sports supplements, bringing his career total from the association to 12.
While Lambos has established an exciting career in journalism, his career path was not always certain. Lambos started his time at HWS in environmental sciences, eventually picking up a minor in Classical Studies. After taking classes in Media and Society and Writing and Rhetoric, Lambos decided to double major in both, finding an academic community in each department.
“That really formed what I wanted to do,” he says. “It didn't happen in an instant. It happened over the course of two, three semesters, and it took time.”
In his Media and Society and Writing and Rhetoric classes, Lambos was encouraged to explore different forms of communication, writing and media. During this experimentation, Lambos discovered that his career could combine all of his passions.
“I started really enjoying writing, and I knew that I kind of wanted to do what I loved. And what I loved was sports. And I love to tell stories,” he says.
Lambos says his liberal arts education was essential in preparing him for a career in journalism. While his courses advanced his writing skills, they also promoted principles of integrity that are fundamental to honest and ethical journalism.
“...When I came to the Finger Lakes Times [it gave me] a lot of confidence in what I believed in and what I still do believe in. And what I thought were pillars of importance going into a field that required a really good moral compass, ethics, honesty [and] integrity.”
Combining his passion for sports and storytelling, Lambos contributes to regional sports coverage while also highlighting the community aspects of athletics. One of Lambos main reasons for his love of sports is its power to bring people together. Part of Lambos responsibility as a sports journalist is not only to focus on the game but look at the wider context of the players and their lives.
“I've met so many incredible coaches and players and parents and people in my line of work, that are my neighbors. They're in the town next to me. They're an hour away. It's been a privilege to get to know this area far more than I did.”
At the Finger Lakes Times, Lambos continues the exploration he began at HWS by testing new forms of media, like photography.
“It has been one of the best, unexpected, joys I've ever had. Not even in my career, in my life. I have completely fallen in love with photography, sports photography and photography in general.”
It is this combination and opportunity to explore his passions that keeps Lambos enthusiastic about his work and excited for “what each new day is going to bring.” His advice to young journalists is to pursue something that you love.
“Think about what you love in your life, your free time. And pursue that. Even if it doesn't work out, pursue it.”
As a student, Lambos studied abroad in New Zealand and had a writing internship with 12up Sports, authoring more than 1,000 articles. On campus, he hosted a radio show on WHWS, and was a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team, Club soccer, basketball and squash teams.
