BRYCE MOORE OF JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY, a junior from Loma, Colo., has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Character and Community Male Student Athlete of the Week for the week beginning December 3.
The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.
It might be easier to narrow the list of things that Moore isn’t involved in.
The junior is a distance runner and team captain for the Wildcats, meaning he doesn’t really have an offseason. He’s busy with cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring.
When he’s not getting all his miles in or training at the fitness center, Moore is heavily involved on campus with JWU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Initially he joined SAAC after a recommendation from his coach, but he quickly found a passion for bringing students together, to the point where he now serves as the committee’s vice president.
Somehow, he also finds time to work for the school’s athletic department, filling a number of different roles for the Wildcats’ game day operations.
However, Bryce’s most important extra-circular activity has nothing to do with athletics or campus life. He’s also an Officer Candidate in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Bryce’s calling to serve his country is in his blood, as his father, William Wayne Moore Jr., was as a Gunnery Sergeant with the Marines for 21 years.
“Just being around that environment has given me a sense of commitment to my country,” said Bryce, who grew up on Camp Pendleton in Southern California before his family relocated to Grand Junction, Colo. “It’s just fantastic to meet other like-minded people that want to do that.”
After making the decision to become a Marine Corps Officer Candidate a year ago, Moore recently had the honor of being selected for the Platoon Leaders Course at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School this summer in Quantico, Virginia. Moore was chosen by a board of officers from a large pool of candidates from around the country.
On track to earn a degree in business administration, Bryce hopes to eventually become a financial officer in the Marines.
Now in his second season leading the JWU cross country and track teams, coach Chris Sandefur says Moore has been a huge asset as the Wildcats are trying to build a successful program in their first season as a member of the SCAC. Cross country season in the fall was a great start, as the Wildcats placed third as a team at the SCAC Championships thanks in part to Moore’s 16th place individual finish.
“It was really nice to have somebody that wanted to be a leader right away and wanted to make a positive impact – not only on his team but also on the whole athletic department,” said Sandefur, who was an ROTC student himself when he was in high school. “He’s somebody who really wants to be involved and somebody who’s really trying to help us build a winning culture here.
“Not only does he make a good leader for us athletically, but I know with his military service in the future, he really wants to be somebody who leads people. Everything that he’s learning here at school – being part of SAAC and being a leader on our team – is also going to help him with that military experience.”