Dr. Matthew Ivey (’99) completed his biology degree from ETBU and then obtained his Doctorate of Podiatric Medicine at Barry University in Miami, Florida. He has been practicing in the Southwest Houston Area for several years and currently works at Lone Star Foot & Ankle Specialists. He also serves as a team doctor for local schools and programs.
Hear how Dr. Ivey credits providential guidance for his arrival and time spent on campus in the nineties:
An opportunity to possibly play soccer at ETBU sparked my attention. I then found out that a couple of my friends had also decided to go there. I began to pray about it, and when we visited the campus, I knew it was the place. Soccer ended up not working out, but I knew that despite that, ETBU was where I wanted to go to school.
ETBU was a place where you had one-on-one conversations and help from the professors. We would sit in lectures during the morning and battle it out on the racquetball court in the afternoon with them. Professor George Damoff, however, was instrumental in my life in those years. He challenged me in my walk with God, he challenged me as a student, and he and his family gave me a sense of family when I was at school. We are still friends, and I would not hesitate to pick up the phone and seek his advice on decisions to this day.
The most meaningful connection to another alumnus is my wife of 24 years, Kelly (Grounds) Ivey, class of 2000. That is an alumni connection that I would not trade for the world. Some of my best friends to this day are those that I made at ETBU, and over the years, many of us have kept in touch. ETBU is a smaller school, but because of its size, almost everyone knows each other. Over the years, I have run into other alumni at random locations around Texas and even once in Miami, FL. It's always funny how we recognize each other and then immediately pick up where we left off years ago. It seems like every encounter ends with me turning to my kids and saying, “Hey, you will never guess who that was! That was the dude from the story that I told you who … “. The kids then respond, “No way! That was them, that’s crazy!”
My first thought is, “Wow, that was a great time in my life”! As I reflect deeper, I think of joy, growth, heartache, hard work, exhaustion, smiles, friends, laughs, fun, intramural sports, tree golf, and hanging out with friends outside of Fry Hall.
My time at ETBU laid the basis for becoming a doctor. It provided me with a solid base of learning, which enabled me to succeed in my next steps in education.