Ryan Chu Rewarded For His Hard Work On and Off The Field

Ryan Chu of the CSUN Men's Soccer team was named Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for CSUN Athletics at the Varsity N Awards Ceremony on April 13. Ryan was one of multiple student-athletes who shared the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Tui Edwin (track & field), Logan Miller (baseball), and Chu were honored for their academic excellence.

The ceremony, held for the first time at the Northridge Center on campus, featured guest speakers and special awards and honored Matadors.

Chu is a sophomore goalkeeper who has been with the CSUN men's soccer program since 2023. In high school, Chu was named Goalkeeper of the Year in Coastal Canyon League as a senior after posting nine shutouts which helped lead the team to a league title.

He has always been serious about his academics. In fact, Chu has a vision board at his house where he sets goals for himself before every season. Before each year, Chu writes down "three-month, six-month and yearlong goals". He knew coming into this season that because of his hard work in the classroom, that he had a shot of winning scholar athlete of the year. To be able to get a tangible award for a goal he wrote down a year prior meant a lot to him.

"How you do one thing is how you do everything." Chu proclaims. It's a statement that he lives by day in and day out, and that statement guides him to everything that he approaches.

Not only is Chu double majoring in accounting and finance, he is the president of the Consulting and Advising Association at CSUN. The association has over 80 members and a 12 member executive board. They do things like completing a community outreach program where the members of the group go to community colleges and tell those students about careers within professional and financial services, essentially assisting with laying the groundwork for future workers to be successful in their fields.

His hard work on and off the field is something that head coach of the men's soccer team, Terry Davila, doesn't oversee.

"We're very lucky to have him," Davila said. "He maximizes everything that we have to offer as a school here. If it's academically, the soccer field, the weight room, or even at his club, he does things with max effort and always puts his best foot forward. He maximizes every bit of talent either as a player or as a student."

"I really learned how to put my work ethic from things that I have learned through soccer into things like academics and other mediums that I am involved in," Chu said.

Coach Davila says that Ryan is admired by his teammates, and that he is the role model of the squad. "Everybody enjoys seeing Ryan be successful on the field and in the classroom," he said. "There are a lot of younger players that go to him for advice on how to succeed. He is a great leader. People envy him and ask him a lot of questions."

Davila recognizes that the stress of being a Division-I athlete and the balance of being a successful student, can be like having two full-time jobs.

"He manages stress well," Davila added. "And above all else, he is a pleasant and good person. When you are around special people like Ryan, it helps you become a better person as well. He is a tremendous role model to me too."

Needless to say, no matter what avenue Chu sets his mind to, his future is a bright one.

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California State University Northridge Athletics

Ryan Chu Rewarded For His Hard Work On and Off The Field

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