LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Matt Wise of the University of Dallas and Jaclyn Newell of Trinity University have been selected as the SCAC Male and Female Character & Community Student-Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week ending Sunday, October 20.
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, course, court, pool or
track, but also by serving their campus and community.
To view past winners of the award, click here.
MATT WISE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS, a
junior midfielder from Portland, Ore., has been selected the SCAC
Character & Community Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the
week ending Sunday, October 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.”
JACLYN NEWELL OF TRINITY
UNIVERSITY, a senior from Frankfort,
Ill., has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Female
Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending October 20,
2013.
Newell is a two-time team captain with Trinity’s cross
country team, leading the Tigers to their first-ever conference
championship last season. She earned All-SCAC and All-Region
honors in 2012, and was a key part of the Trinity team that earned
an invitation to the NCAA Championships. Newell was also named to
the All-Sportsmanship Team last season, and is a three-time
All-SCAC performer in track & field as well. Last season, she
was the SCAC Champion in the Steeplechase.
Off the course, Newell is the President of Trinity’s SAAC, and was selected to attend the NCAA Student Athlete Leadership Conference in 2012. She initiated the first annual SAAC banquet to promote school spirit and unity among the Tiger sports teams in 2013, and she also organized this fall’s October Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser. Newell is also the student representative on Trinity’s Intercollegiate Athletics Committee.
A Chemistry major, Newell has been working on research on Supported Gold Catalysts since this summer, a project that “will ultimately supplement other research efforts to characterize the unique properties of supported gold catalysts.”
Newell has also served as a Senator on Trinity’s Association of Student Representatives, and is also active as a Mentor in the Athlete Academic Success Program – a new program at Trinity that assists athletes in adjusting to college life, balancing their academics and athletics schedules.
This season, Newell has led Trinity to wins at the Alamo City Openers, the UTSA/Ricardo Romo Classic, and the Hanover Pre-Nationals Meet. The 13th-ranked Tigers are looking to repeat as SCAC and NCAA South/Southeast Regional Champions, as well as improve on last year’s 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
