Three years ago, men's golf junior David Smith knew he wanted to play golf in college, and at the same time, wanted to receive a well-rounded education.
A visit to Kalamazoo during high school gave him exactly what he was looking for.
"I came to K one day, where I shadowed one of the golfers actually, and I just loved it," Smith said.
After arriving on campus in the fall of 2013, Smith immediately made an impact for the men's golf team, earning All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association First Team honors in his freshman season. He earned the same honors his sophomore season and is poised to repeat once again in the 2015-16 season.
Smith attributes much of his success on the golf course to putting mistakes behind him quickly, and he knows that trait helps him succeed in the classroom as well.
"With golf especially, you always have to keep your head up and keep moving—one mistake you've got to get over real quickly," Smith said. "That's good to have in the real world, especially with school. OK, so I messed up this paper, well that happens, you've got to move on, you've got to bounce back and be able to keep going. It all works out in the end."
His mentality is paying off outside of the classroom already. A finance and psychology double-major, Smith works for his father's company, Basic Rubber and Plastics, whenever he has the opportunity to do so, and he's set to study abroad in Spain in the spring of 2016.
Even with his strong ability to balance golf and academics, time is always at a premium as a student-athlete, and Smith knows he can rely on Head Men's Golf Coach Mitch Wilson and his professors to work with him and enable him to manage a busy schedule.
"I can always go to my coach and say 'hey, I have this paper due, is it ok to miss practice today and get this done?'" Smith said. "Coach and professors alike are always very understanding of what you need to do. Even with golf, I always have to go to the professors and let them know I'm going to miss class for a day and I've never had someone have a problem with it. They just say we'll work it out and to visit them at office hours or that kind of thing."
For now, Smith is focused on the fall golf season and helping the Hornets finish in the top four, giving them a bid to the 54-hole MIAA Tournament in the spring. His average at MIAA Jamborees this season is one of the best in the conference, coming in at 73.25 strokes per round.
Smith has had thoughts about trying to pursue some type of professional golf, but upon graduation he hopes to begin his career in the field of finance.
"I've thought about [professional golf], but at some point you have to come to the reality that maybe it's not possible, so I think that might be setting in and finance is the more reasonable future goal."
Quick Profile
Hometown / High School: Highland, Mich. / Everest Collegiate
Majors: Finance and Psychology
Lowest round: 64 (Prestwick Village Golf Club)
Number of hole-in-ones: Two (Age 12 and 15)
Collegiate scoring average: 75.5