Matthew Wise named SCAC Character & Community Male 'Student-Athlete of the Week'

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - MATTHEW WISE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS, a junior midfielder from Portland, Ore., has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Character & Community Male Student-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 20.

Wise, a two-year co-captain and three-year letterwinner on the men's soccer team, has tallied seven points on the 2013 season via two goals and three assists. Both of his scores are of the game-winning variety for head coach David Hoffmann's squad. Of note, Wise was named to the 2011 All-SCAC Third Team.

Off the soccer field, Wise, a Pre-Med/Biology major, is a key leader in three University of Dallas student organizations. He is the vice president of the Tri-Beta Biological Society, public relations officer for the Pre-Health Society, and is actively involved with the pro-life club Crusaders for Life.

With ambitions of becoming a doctor, Wise spent summer 2013 conducting ongoing research at Oregon Health and Science University in the Interventional Neuroradiology Unit.

"I worked on the efficacy of a specific anti-platelet therapy test," Wise said, "that potentially aids stroke victims and subarachnoid-hemorrhage patients undergoing interventional procedures. I also volunteered with the physicians when there was time."

A true student-athlete, Wise has been working with University of Dallas Physiology professor Dr. Slaughter to better understand and strive to prevent Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears in female athletes.

Wanting to give back for the greater good as a devout follower of Jesus Christ, Wise has participated in some notable community-service efforts.

In summer 2011, Wise volunteered at an oral-maxillofacial surgeon's office in Southwest Washington State.

While attending Jesuit High School, he worked with campers at the Munroe-Meyer Institute's recreational-therapy programs in Omaha, Neb.

Wise also helped Open House Ministries, a transitional-housing initiative in Southwest Washington State, in addition to leading retreats at his high school through the Campus Ministry program.

At the University of Dallas, he was accepted into the Study-Abroad Program. "While studying in Rome, Italy, I participated in the University of Dallas Volunteer Program," Wise said. "Some of my classmates and I taught English to Italian elementary-school students."

This semester, he assisted with the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Charities Healthcare Fair, an event that administered low-cost healthcare to the people of Irving, Texas.

Wise is planning a medical-mission trip to Apam, Ghana, where he will work at Apam Catholic Hospital. The healthcare center employs three doctors and serves 200 communities in the Gomoa District of the Central Region.

"We would provide medically-related assistance, in addition to improving the maternal-care center and potentially creating a new optometry center," Wise said. "Our project is called The Apam Initiative." 

Click here to view the SCAC's full release. 

About SCAC Character & Community: 

"The SCAC Character & Community award was created in 2009 to honor and recognize the efforts of the extraordinary student-athletes of the conference who not only excel athletically on the field, court, pool or track, but also by serving their campus and community."