FSLM Student Profile

Meet Mathew Delk

By Reese Langdon

In order to be brave enough to face new and unknown territory, one must take a small leap of faith. It is very easy to stick to what is comfortable and traditional, but that is not in 18-year-old Mathew Delk’s nature; he is driven to venture out and happily explore the world. Mathew, a recent graduate of Texas High School, will soon be taking not just a small leap of faith but a giant leap across the world: he will be attending college 4,442 miles away at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England.

Saying farewell to everything connected to your childhood and heading off to college is a scary feat for most grads, even if they are not headed across the Atlantic Ocean. This is true for Mathew as well, though he believes that to “turn this offer down would be ridiculous,” he said.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse,” Mathew explained. “I love to travel and experience new cultures, and the ease of access to the rest of Europe and the UK itself was too much to refuse. I believe having to assimilate to another culture for three years will make me a better person and broaden my résumé for future jobs.”

While in England, Mathew will continue feeding his passion for soccer, which he has had since he was three years old. He is an alumnus of Shreveport United, Texas FC Dallas, and the Texas High boys’ soccer team. He will soon play for the Macclesfield FC International Academy, the country’s leading full-time football and education program. Macclesfield partners with UCL to allow full-time soccer players to pursue university degrees concurrently.

Mathew was introduced to Macclesfield two years ago, when he began spending his summers training there through the academy’s four-week residency program. Mathew trained for five hours a day and competed against other UK academies weekly.

As Mathew looked back on his abroad training, he reflected that it heavily influenced his decision to return for college. “The coaches already know me, and I’ve made lifelong friendships with other people who are also returning,” he said.

Of course, no new journey comes without some worry, even for an experienced and eager traveler like Mathew. “I’m most worried about not continuing to improve and plateauing in soccer,” Mathew said. However, these concerns are outweighed by his excitement for “meeting new people and developing connections,” he said.

Looking far into the future, Mathew hopes that the relationships he will make will help him secure success in his plans after University of Central Lancaster: going to law school and then opening a sports agency firm to negotiate contracts for professional athletes. 

Before he can move onto that chapter in his life, however, he first has to balance earning a degree in sports business management, practicing and playing soccer, and adapting to a whole new country—a daunting load, but one that Mathew is confident he can handle.

Mathew is on his way out of his hometown and to a life many young people only dream of. While thrilling, this drastic change is bittersweet because of the inevitable goodbyes inching closer by the second. 

“The hardest goodbye will be my family,” Mathew stated. “It’ll be weird not being in the same house anymore and having to watch my siblings continue to grow up from the outside and not being as big of a part in their life anymore.” 

Mathew would tell anyone approaching a leap of faith to “just trust yourself and take it,” he said. “You can always come back and start over with something else if you fail, but if you never do it, you’ll never be able to test your own measure.”

Though just out of high school, Mathew is an inspiration to people of all ages to take the road less traveled with confidence and high spirits.