Oct. 6, 2005

By Tom Acox - Special to sjuhawks.com

St. Joe's sophomore Mike Goldovich starts his day off by making sure all his homework is done from the night before for whatever classes he has that day. He then usually heads to class and will eventually end up at the cafeteria to meet up with his friends. This sounds like a typical routine for your average St. Joe's student. However, while you can't say he's different - he enjoys an Episode of Family Guy and a game of pool as much as the next kid, there's more to Mike than that. He plays soccer for the Hawks and also nearly lost a close friend in High School, an experience that has shaped the person he aspires to be every day.

Goldovich attended Bishop Shanahan in West Chester, PA, for High School. While there he earned letters in three sports including track, football and soccer. After numerous impressive seasons he was named the captain as a senior while playing sweeper on the Varsity Soccer team. While at Shanahan, Mike participated in many community service activities as well as earning several awards off the field. The most prestigious of these honors off the field was Richie Ashburn award, which he earned his senior year for Outstanding Scholar Athlete. It was, however, during all his High School success that Goldovich encountered possible tragedy for the first time in his life.

Currently, Mike Goldovich is a sophomore Defense/Midfield player for the Hawks. He stands 6 feet 2 inches and weighs in around 185 pounds. He started a handful of games as a freshman and is looking forward to more playing time each season. Goldovich is a Business/Food Marketing major and claims one of the best days of his life was "when I signed my letter of intent to play at St. Joe's because I knew I was going to have a chance to play soccer for 4 more years and more importantly have the opportunity to get a degree from one of the best business schools in the country."

Then on December 16, 2002 all of Goldovich's plans suddenly seemed irrelevant. Goldovich explains he had just woken up for school like any other day and headed down the stairs when he heard his parents crying. He had no idea what was wrong and immediately questioned his tearful parents. Goldovich's parents had just gotten the news that one of his childhood friends had just been diagnosed with a serious illness. "He's sick Mike, he has leukemia," was his parents only reply that still rings in Goldovich's memory to the present. Goldovich at the time had drifted apart from the friend mainly due to distance after his friend had moved to Bucks County.

Goldovich found himself asking questions like "What was going to happen to him?" and "Why, this isn't fair, he's only 16?" This was friend that he'd played sports with since he was 5. However, he quickly found these were not the kinds of things going through his friend's mind. After watching his friend struggle through chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and fighting to keep up with his High School class academically, Goldovich was inspired.

During his struggles, Goldovich's friend had adopted the motto "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day," and he decided it was about time he started instituting that into his life as well. "Each time I study, run, or go to the gym I remember my friend and those words," says Goldovich.

This however was not the end of the story. Mike Goldovich was then accepted into Saint Joseph's University and signed a letter of intent to play soccer for the Hawks. After all his struggles and graduating on time with his class, his friend was also accepted to Saint Joseph's. In a twist of fate, the two friends who recently reconnected would now get to spend the next four years reconnecting on Hawk Hill. Though Goldovich says they don't always see each other all the time because of living assignments, classes, and soccer "he and I both know if we ever needed something we would be there to help each other."