ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership Award
Jered Wilson from Xavier University of Louisiana has been named the 2023 ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership Award winner.
Wilson enrolled at Xavier in August 2020, but did not attend during 2021-22 because he was in working in Los Angeles as a research lab assistant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. While there, Wilson participated in Alzheimer's disease research focusing on retinal pathology and the effect of Alzheimer's on the retina.
Wilson holds a cumulative 3.85 GPA at Xavier and to date, has 350 community service hours. During this previous school year, he volunteered at Trinity Community Center, where he played games with kids and helped them with cooking and their vocabulary homework.
A Letter From Director of Tennis Alan Green
Congratulations, Jered Wilson, on your Arthur Ashe Award.
It has been a rewarding year for me to watch you grow as a player and a person. I’ve never had a player come in as a true freshman and leave school after their first year to attend a medical internship (at UCLA) to participate in cancer research as it relates to dementia and human eyesight. Then you returned to campus a more mature and confident person which translated to better play on the court. You will become a very successful doctor.
There have been many times this season that we have had one on one conversations about what the future looks like. I’ve watched you this season sacrifice sleep in order to make sure you will be prepared for exams when they are taken. I’ve also watched you practice extra countless hours so you can be prepared for matches because you knew how important you are to the team. You have always put the team first ahead of your own personal goals because you knew the team came first, playing any position in the singles or doubles lineup depending on the need of each match. One person cannot win a team match and you made countless sacrifices for your team to make sure we would win.
I am amazed at how you can juggle all these things and maintain a 3.85 GPA. I have no doubt that one day in the near future we all will be calling you Dr. Jered Wilson, and you will be one of many out there making this world a better place for others. You are exactly what our mission at Xavier is all about; making this world a more just and humane society.
Sincerely, Alan Green