Four years of hard work have paid off.
Kevin Woidke '15 has earned a scholarship at The Ohio State University.
Woidke's four years of blood, sweat, and tears poured into the Buckeyes' football program have been rewarded with a scholarship for his fifth year at Ohio State.
Ian Woidke '13 announced the news of his brother's scholarship on Twitter, writing, "No one is more deserving. So proud of you." Kevin followed in Ian's footsteps at Saint Ignatius and Ohio State. (Ian now works as an Employee Benefits Advisor for Alpha Property & Casualty, Inc.)
Ian is not the only Wildcat who is pleased with Kevin's achievement. Saint Ignatius Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69 is bursting with pride for his mentee.
"It's a great tribute to the kind of young man he is," Kyle said. "He's helped the team every way he can. The coaches will tell you that. He's worked his way up to where he's battling at the second team offensive line. He's quite deserving. He's earned it. We're very proud of him."
After a successful career at Saint Ignatius, including a stellar stint as an offensive lineman, Woidke headed to Ohio State in the summer of 2015. Woidke immediately set to work in the classroom and on the field.
Woidke started as a walk-on, but worked hard to earn great grades in the classroom and playing time on the field. Results took time to materialize on the field, but Woidke started off his academic career by capturing OSU Scholar-Athlete in 2015.
Woidke played in his first game for OSU in 2016, appearing in five games. Woidke repeated his Scholar-Athlete effort for the fall semester. The Clevelander one-upped his feats in 2017, playing in 12 games (primarily on special teams) and achieving Academic All-Big Ten Conference distinction with teammate Dre'Mont Jones.
Once again in 2018, Woidke tallied OSU Scholar-Athlete honors, adding the Academic All-Big Ten award. Woidke appeared in 10 games this past season while continuing to pursue his degree in real estate and urban analysis.
All the while, Woidke showed his teammates how to be a Man for Others.
"He does it right. He loves the idea of playing football, loves being a part of this amazing thing at Ohio State, but he's there to get his education," Coach Kyle said. "His coaches respected that. He gave all of that effort, but he was right on top of his grades, and willing to help other guys out, which he did. He could be a guy you could go to. 'Hey, can you go over this subject matter with me?' He's that type of guy."
As Kyle believes, Ohio State loves having Saint Ignatius men involved in its football program. Joe Pickens '90, Ryan Franzinger '02, and Dre'Mont Jones '15 are just a few of the other fine Ignatian men to walk the halls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
"Over the years, Ohio State has welcomed having some Men for Others down there," Kyle said. "At that level, there can be, by nature, some selfishness. That's the way it is. But to have a quality team, you need guys like Kevin who are concerned about helping their teammates. This is great news, he's getting rewarded for it."