Pharmacy student by day, wrestling coach by night

Students are always busy. Just ask Aaron Smith, a fourth-year pharmacy student at MUSC. In addition to his rigorous academic schedule, Smith dedicates his time to bettering the Charleston community. One of his favorite ways to do that is by coaching the Goose Creek High School wrestling team, pushing his wrestlers to be the best they can be.

“When I first moved here,” Smith said, “I scrolled through the state tournament brackets, and I looked for anyone who made the state finals and lived within twenty minutes of Charleston. I didn’t know the area that well, but I wanted to work with the kids that had been working hard and wanted to be even better.”

Coming from a wrestling background himself, he understood the need for the younger wrestlers to see what hard work and determination could do.

Smith had wrestled for a long time. Growing up in Ohio, he felt lucky, he said, to be part of an incredible wrestling program, even having the unique opportunity to work with David Taylor, a world–class wrestler. In 2017 alone, Taylor won the U.S. Open championship, came in second in the U.S. World Team Trials and was the World Cup champion and Paris International champion. Smith gained a great deal from those formative days.

Eventually, Smith found himself in North Carolina and continued wrestling throughout high school and college. After graduating from Appalachian State University in 2014, he came to the MUSC College of Pharmacy and will graduate this spring. Throughout his time in Charleston, he’s used his personal experiences to help the Goose Creek wrestlers.

“I got to grow up with people that went on to do amazing things. Their influence gave me the mindset that I’ve brought to Goose Creek. I want to create opportunities for the kids through wrestling.”

 

Since he began working with the wrestlers, he’s seen them accomplish great things. His first year volunteering as the coach of the team, GCHS finished fifth overall at the state tournament, winning championships. The next year, his team finished tenth, with one state finalist. His third year, they finished third overall, with one finalist and numerous top-4 place winners. This February, Israel Schultz, a wrestler he’d worked with for four years, won a state title in the 5A 120-pound weight class.

“His parents came down from the stands at his match and hugged me,” he said, “and we all cried together. They told me that they could never repay me for how much Israel has accomplished.”

Smith said three GCHS wrestlers have signed athletic scholarships that will allow them to compete at colleges in different levels. One will wrestle for Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, and two for St. Andrew's University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. These three wrestling scholarship recipients, he explained, were the first from GCHS in well over 30 years. “We’re literally giving these young men opportunities they may not have had if they didn’t have wrestling,” he said.

But even more than championships, titles, scholarships and new opportunities, Smith has been able to cultivate a community around the sport. Having grown up in in a wrestling family, he understands the importance of building camaraderie and community.

“My dad wrestled, and many of the people he coached helped me when I was in youth wrestling.”

Smith hopes that that same mentality continues to influence his wrestlers. Many of the wrestlers who have graduated come back to support the team, even families with kids in college.

Smith wants to maintain that special esprit de corps at GCHS and enjoys playing a key role. “I want to preserve the family environment and stay connected with the families."

He'd also like to continue to be an advocate for the Charleston community. “I don’t think of my work as volunteering. I do what is right, and I do what I love. People volunteering their time in my life got me to where I am, and I want to continue to do that for others.”

For his volunteering efforts, he has won the MUSC College of Pharmacy’s “Most Outstanding Volunteer” award for the past two years and is in the running again this year. But the most rewarding aspect of his volunteer work is seeing his wrestlers accomplish new things. “I’m most proud of getting these kids to college. Not all families have the resources for college, so I’m glad I can make a difference and contribute to their success.”