Mattie Duncan, Austin College, Women's Volleyball - Character & Community

MATTIE DUNCAN OF AUSTIN COLLEGE, a senior middle hitter on the women's volleyball team from Fort Worth, Texas, has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the week beginning October 28.

The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.



Throughout her time at Austin College, Mattie has been a standout both on the volleyball court and in the classroom. The senior middle blocker from Fort Worth has also taken on several leadership opportunities, as well as volunteer work in the Texoma area, while also working on developing a better understanding, and helping her fellow student-athletes achieve that same understanding, of the rigors and stresses that being a collegiate athlete can bring with it.

A kinesiology major with minors in biology and psychology, Mattie worked with some of her fellow students to research the impact of being a student-athlete, striving for academic and athletic excellence, on mental health.

This research focused on the benefits of emotional support animals in alleviating anxiety, and Mattie and her research partners presented their findings at the Austin College Scholars Conference and the Southwestern Psychological Association in San Antonio. Her work with animals has continued beyond finding the emotional support they bring, as Duncan has also worked with the Sherman Animal Shelter.

Mattie has also taken on several leadership opportunities at Austin College, including serving as a team captain for the ‘Roo volleyball team, as well as the co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She recently helped organize and run a department-wide student-athlete meet and greet, bringing members of all Austin College athletics programs together for what ended up being the most successful SAAC event at the College in several years, with more than 200 participants representing all of the ‘Roo athletics programs. That meet and greet also involved gathering donations of Halloween candy to be donated for local children.

Mattie also boasts an impressive academic resume as a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, the Psi Chi Honor Society, and a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll throughout her time in Sherman.