by M. C. Jennings | Jan 31, 2024 | Academics, Alumni Spotlight, Athletics, Careers In..., COBA Faculty, College Decisions, Management
Growing up in Spain, Matias Montanes (‘23) knew he wanted to play tennis and play at the professional level. Spain is the home of great champions like current world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, and doubles great Emilio Sanchez.
It’s a country steeped in tennis tradition, and Montanes wanted to be part of it. He began playing at a young age, and by the time he was 12, he was winning tournaments and was one of the top young players in his home country.
However, the time spent practicing took him away from other interests and made him realize that the dream of playing as a professional might not be what he wanted after all. He began to think about playing collegiately and pursuing his other dreams, like a college degree and perhaps a career as a lawyer.
That’s when he called ACU men’s head coach Juan Nunez (’09), and as soon as the two made a connection, Montanes knew he had found a new home. But two months before he was to arrive in Abilene for the start of his freshman year in the fall of 2020, he suffered a catastrophic elbow injury in a bike accident in Spain.
He came to ACU with the injury and Nunez honored his scholarship despite knowing that doctors in Spain said Montanes wouldn’t be able to play at a competitive level again. He tried to rehab the injury through the fall, but in December, he gave up tennis and began looking to return home to attend college in Spain.
But that’s when Nunez intervened and set Montanes on a path to something he truly loves: the law. As Matias explored this new road, he found mentors in faculty from ACU and COBA, especially Dr. Phil Vardiman (‘76) and Daniel Garcia (‘07). He graduated in December with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), majoring in management with a minor in business leadership. Mattias has returned to Spain to study law in hopes that one day he can combine his ACU business degree with his law degree.
We recently talked to Matias and asked about his time as a tennis player, his experience at ACU and in COBA, and what’s next for him.
Q: Tell me about growing up in Spain, where you grew up, and what you wanted to be as an adult.
Montanes: I grew up in Menorca, Spain, and started playing tennis when I was four. My family and I moved to Mallorca when I was 10 because of my dad’s job. But that helped me improve my tennis game because I could practice with better tennis players and play at a good club.
Q: Growing up in Spain and playing tennis, did you have dreams of one day becoming the next Nadal or one of the other great players from Spain?
Montanes: When I was 12, I started to win Spanish and European championships. I was in the top three in Spain and maintained that level until I was 16. During that time, I beat players like Carlos Alcaraz (he’s number 2 in the world now), Arthur Cazaux (number 122 ATP right now), and Pablo Llamas (160 ATP right now). I wanted to be a professional tennis player, and that was everything I was seeing in my future. I practiced five hours per day every day of the week for six years. When I turned 17, I finally realized how hard it was to become a professional tennis player.
Q: Was tennis always the way you planned to get your education, and how did you come to learn about ACU?
Montanes: I had a hard-working mentality during my career, but that’s not enough. You must have something special, but I didn’t have it to get to that next level. I started to look for universities in the United States after I realized that. I had to find other goals in my life other than tennis. Tennis wasn’t going to provide me with a living. I started talking to some colleges, but as soon as I spoke with Juan Nunez, I knew that ACU was the place to go. Two months before I arrived at ACU, I had a bike accident, breaking my elbow into 18 pieces. The doctors had to put me in a cast and warned me that I wouldn’t be able to play tennis anymore. I didn’t want to believe them. I called Juan, and he didn’t believe them either. I traveled to Texas and visited more doctors. We had faith, but that wasn’t enough. I started to play tennis, and my elbow was getting worse every day. In December 2020, I decided to stop and start looking for colleges in Spain, but Juan allowed me to be his assistant coach, maintaining my scholarship.
Q: What were your first impressions of ACU and Abilene, and how did those change during the years you were here?
Montanes: My first semester, I didn’t like ACU. I came from the Catholic Church, and it was a change. I wanted to return to Spain; I had all my family, friends, and girlfriend there, but the opportunity Juan gave me was too big; one of those opportunities that only happens once in your life. Finally, I decided to stay. My tennis career changed in January 2021 when I started coaching as a freshman. As a second-year student, I began studying law in Spain, thanks to an online program. Being an assistant, attending Business school at ACU, and law school in Spain wasn’t easy, but I made it through.
Q: I know Dr. Phil Vardiman and Daniel Garcia were integral in your pursuit of a business management degree. Can you expound on how much those two men have impacted your life?
Montanes: I was lucky to have professors like Dr. Vardiman and Daniel. We made a special connection from the beginning. They knew everything I was going through and always supported me. They taught me life lessons without words but facts.
Q: What was the total COBA experience like for you, and what lessons did you learn that will stay
with you?
Montanes: I learned to be a servant business leader, a lesson I will always carry. I realized how good people can be in this world. Before coming to ACU, I never thought that people like this existed. But, thanks to ACU, I know the kind of husband, dad, and son I want to become. It took me some years, but now I’m conscious about it.
Q: How did you become interested in studying the law, and what kind of law degree are you working toward in Spain?
Montanes: I was always interested in law. If I had to choose a major in Spain, it would have been law. I saw the opportunity when I became an assistant because I wasn’t arriving home tired. I was coaching, not practicing. I think both majors (business and law) combine very well. You’d better know the law if you have your own business.
Q: How will you use your law degree, and do you want to merge your ACU degree with your law degree in your professional career?
Montanes: I’d like to find a business job with a multinational company and see how it looks in practice. Once I graduate from law school, I will decide whether to become a lawyer or use my law knowledge in a business position.
Q: What is the one thing you miss about Texas and ACU?
Montanes: The people. I miss the people at ACU and in Texas.
by M. C. Jennings | May 26, 2023 | Academics, Athletics, COBA Faculty, COBA Staff, Current Students, Faith Infusion, Management, Student Spotlights, Student Spotlights
Written by special contributor Lance Fleming
Each day, students across the ACU campus display the university’s mission to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world through their actions and acts of service on the campus. Each year, students like those are nominated by their academic departments. From those nominations, 50 scholars are selected by the ACU Faculty Senate to receive the University Scholars Award for their graduating class.
Among those 50 scholars who demonstrated outstanding scholarship by maintaining a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher, earning 90 hours towards their degree, and continuing the pursuit of knowledge in their research field, seven are students from the College of Business Administration. The COBA students who received this year’s University Scholars Award are Kathryn Crawford, Gracie Isham, Matthew Roberson, Will Harris, Diego Lozano Welsh, Ben Blackmon, and Garrett Powell.
We have been highlighting each of those seven individuals over the last few weeks, including this profile of Will Harris. A native of Houston, Texas, and a business management major, Will carries a 3.78 GPA while competing on the ACU track and field team. Aside from his work on the track, Will is already a licensed realtor, having earned his real estate license two years ago. Will has been selling properties for two years, and his post-graduation plan is to continue selling real estate with the goal of becoming one of the top-producing tenant representatives in Houston.
Will also wants to open a center for financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and professional development in an underrepresented area of Houston. Will competes in the long jump, triple jump, and 100 meters as part of ACU’s tradition-rich track and field program and is also a member of Lynay and the president of the College Entrepreneurs Organizations (CEO). He’s also a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Nu Kappa Psi, and is a DEI mentor.
Will recently answered a few questions about his time at ACU and in COBA, covering everything from his most influential class to the most unique thing he’s been a part of while at ACU:
Q: What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself at ACU?
Harris: “The most important thing I have learned at ACU is how to step into a leadership role even when you feel unprepared. The only way to grow is to become uncomfortable for a period of time.”
Q: What professor or class has impacted you most and why?
Harris: “Dr. Dennis Marquardt and Dr. Matt Deeg had the most significant impact on me because they have taken so much time outside the classroom to invest in me as a young man of God. Both men set the standard for integrity in and out of the classroom, and while their classes taught me a lot about business, the value I gained from being in their presence was more rewarding.”
Q: What has been your experience in COBA?
Harris: “My favorite COBA experience was, by far, Leadership Summit 2023. The Lord did something to my heart on that mountaintop, and I honestly was not the same person when I returned to school. I learned to trust the Lord and surrender my life to Him in a way I didn’t know was possible.”
Q: Of all the things you’ve experienced at ACU, what do you believe will have the most impact on your life?
Harris: “ACU Track and Field gave me a family I will never lose. For four years, I learned what it meant to fight hard towards a shared goal with a team! The way the coaches and team mentored me and grew me as a Christian man is the one thing that impacted me the most during my time at ACU.”
by M. C. Jennings | Aug 29, 2019 | Academics, Alumni Spotlight, Athletics, COBA Staff, Uncategorized
As an Associate Director of Advising and as advisor to Financial Management majors, Kent Akers spends a lot of time talking with students while helping them plan their academic career at ACU. With counseling degrees in psychology (B.S. ’09) and Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT ’11), Kent also helps students with issues like pre-martial counseling, career aptitude, and more. Kent shared a few of his favorite memories with us on this Throwback Thursday.
What was your best memory from college?
My best memory from college was either being at the football game where ACU beat WTAMU 93-68 or playing 
baseball for Coach Britt Bonneau.
What is your best advice for college students?
My best advice would be to keep your dorm room door open as much as you can. My best friendships in college came from people who would walk through my open door and from the open doors I chose to walk through.
What do you wish you could tell your college self today?
I wish I could tell my college self that doing too many things is not a good thing. Choose a couple of things to be really involved in and do them well. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
by Hanna Roberts | Nov 27, 2017 | Academics, Athletics, COBA Faculty
If you go to any ACU home game, you are sure to see Dr. Jonathan Stewart, finance professor, sitting in the stands or standing on the sidelines, cheering on the Wildcats. This year, Dr. Stewart is ACU’s Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR). FARs are chosen to help create a caring and supportive campus environment to grow and advocate for student-athletes. The FAR is involved in helping make sure that student-athletes have the appropriate systems and environments in place so that they can succeed in academics and as a person.
Dr. Jonathan Stewart
Dr. Stewart has taught Financial Management, a required class for all business majors, for the last fifteen years and in doing so, has felt privileged to meet so many students. Being the FAR allows him to get to know students in other majors with whom he would not normally interact and build relationships and friendships with them. Dr. Stewart is in charge of overseeing a committee that checks student-athlete eligibility and making sure they are meeting NCAA and ACU requirements. ACU only allows student-athletes to miss a certain amount of classes, so Dr. Stewart approves travel schedules. A large part of his job is just being available to student-athletes so that they can feel comfortable talking to him about difficulties or just to chat. Dr. Stewart tries to go by practices and travels with each team at least once so they can see his face and become familiar with him. His favorite part of the job is coordinating the guest coaching program. Student-athletes nominate their favorite faculty and staff to be honored as guest coaches. Guest coaches can go to practices, watch film, attend pregame meals, and see what the student-athletes do day-to-day beyond the classroom. Dr. Stewart loves to see how it blesses the faculty and staff that get nominated and meeting those individuals who have such a strong positive influence on ACU’s student-athletes. “I get to meet the faculty and staff that the students love,” said Dr. Stewart. “It is also good for them to see how much time, dedication, and love the student-athletes put into what they do.”
Working as ACU’s FAR certainly aligns with Dr. Stewart’s calling to mentor and teach. It allows him to know and interact with a much bigger group of students, all with different concerns, majors, and backgrounds. “I am still learning and trying to find my way,” said Dr. Stewart. “It is fun to say hi to people while I am walking around campus or checking up on how things are with students in the Bean or in chapel.” Dr. Stewart tries to practice mindful prayer for the student-athletes. For example, there always injuries and physical struggles in athletics, so when Dr. Stewart sees someone in a brace or on crutches, he says that he prays for their healing and peace. “It can be stressful for an injured athlete to not compete and be with the team. I try to be really intentional about praying for them and following up on that,” says Dr. Stewart. Student-athletes also have to be exceptional time managers to succeed in the long run. Dr. Stewart prays for their ability to be well-organized and uncommonly focused and makes sure to be available to help students achieve those goals.
Like the rest of us, Dr. Stewart was very excited about having ACU football back on campus in the brand-new Anthony Stadium. In particular, Dr. Stewart has really enjoyed the opportunities that the stadium has provided for communities at ACU and in Abilene. He enjoys walking through tailgates and seeing students setting up their tents and alumni catching up with each other. In Dr. Stewart’s eyes, the stadium has brought about a great improvement and positive effect upon ACU culture, especially when it comes to athletics. “I hope that the excitement that having a home stadium has created will bleed over into other athletic events,” said Dr. Stewart. “We can use this as a way to support and encourage each other no matter if we are a professor, student, athlete, or alumni and focus on building relationships and improving our community.”
Be sure to come say hi to Dr. Stewart at all of our home games and cheer on our student-athletes. Go Wildcats!
