Donovan sets the bar high for Del Tech athlete alumni

For former Sussex Central graduate and Delaware Tech baseball player Matthew Donovan, there truly was no place like home.

Just over a decade ago, Donovan, who started out at Virginia Wesleyan for a semester, began his journey as a student-athlete at Delaware Tech’s Owens Campus and in May of this year earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.

The doctorate is a first for an Owens Campus athlete, according to Dean of Student Services Terry Johnson, and Donovan has been an assistant principal at Caesar Rodney High since the 2003-’04 school year.

“It’s a remarkable accomplishment,” Johnson said of Donovan earning his doctorate. “Starting as a student athlete at a community college and eventually elevating to the lofty position of an assistant principal, that’s something a lot of our students can admire.”

And the admiration is equally shared by Donovan, who played baseball at the Owens Campus for current head coach Curtis Brock while majoring in liberal arts through UD’s parallel program.

After his two years at Delaware Tech, Donovan transferred to Salisbury University where he finished off a dual biology and education major, before returning home and earning his master’s degree from Delaware State University, mostly by taking classes at the Owens Campus.

Not done with Georgetown yet, Donovan earned his latest degree through the University of Delaware by taking most of his courses at the Owens Campus as well.

“Del Tech has been good to me,” Donovan said.

As has baseball, which the now Doctor Donovan said, “was my life.”

Everything in life, he explained, can be related to baseball.

So, it should come as no surprise that now at CR - a promotion that came after he taught and later was athletic director at Central - Donovan encourages his students to participate in athletics.

“There are some kids that I’m not sure would even graduate if they weren’t playing sports,” he said. “It makes them keep their grades up just to play, and it encourages them to keep the grades up during the off-season.

“Not only that, it teaches them how to budget their time.”

Sports is not the only thing Donovan encourages either, as he has explained to more than a fair share of kids that staying at home and attending Delaware Tech is certainly an avenue worth pursuing if the situation calls for it.

“I’ve never understood why kids who aren’t ready to leave go far away for college only to come back home after a semester,” he said. “I am a big advocate of Delaware Tech and the parallel program.

“The path you take, whether it’s the highway, a country road or the bypass, doesn’t change where you end up.”

Johnson agreed with Donovan on that point, and added that Owens Campus is a great place for both student athletes and those who do not wish to participate in sports as well.

He also sited several of the scholarships available for both student athletes and regular students, including the new SEED (Student Excellence Equals Degree) program.

Under its guidelines, any Delaware student with a 2.5 high school grade point average or better, who has not been in legal trouble, will have his or her full time tuition at Delaware Tech or its parallel program, paid for.

“SEED is in its third year, and it has been a great success,” Johnson said. “People who look at Matt and want to accomplish what he has now have an even better opportunity to do so.”