FOR SOCCER STANDOUT CAMERON GREENE ’17, LIFE IS ALL ABOUT

Inspired by a friend, Cameron Greene ’17 became involved with Be the Match, a program that provides bone marrow transplants across the United States to help patients with leukemia, aplastic anemia and other diseases. Just six months after joining the program, Greene was identified as a potential match last summer, and he underwent a procedure to donate bone marrow three weeks before he was scheduled to report to Ripon’s campus for preseason soccer practices.

“Growing up, my parents instilled the idea of paying it forward, and that’s exactly how I saw this opportunity,” Greene says. “It was a chance to give a young adult a shot at a better life with little to no harm done to myself.”

The procedure lasted just more than an hour and consisted of doctors taking a quart of marrow from around the pelvis. Because donations are confidential for one year after the donation, Greene still does not know who his recipient is.

“When the one-year waiting period is over this summer, I’m looking forward to finding out who received my donation,” Greene says. “The whole process definitely gave me a different perspective on life because this procedure gives the recipient another chance at a life that most people consider normal.”

Greene was able to leave the hospital under his own power about three hours after the operation, but there still was a recovery time of a week or two to regenerate bone marrow in his body. Less than one month after the operation, Greene was back on the soccer field, playing the game he loves, for Ripon’s first practices of the 2016 season.

As one of the most consistent performers for the Red Hawks during the last four years, Greene played in all 71 games during his career, starting all but three contests. He finished either first or second on the team in goals scored during all four years, and left his mark on the program by ranking seventh in school history for career assists.

“Looking back on my career, it’s pretty cool to have been such a big part of the program,” Greene says. “It’s a huge honor and privilege to have my name in the record book next to the great players who have come before me, such as Alvaro Calle ’13 and Coach (Zach) Hershoff ’11.”

In addition to his 10 career assists, Greene also finished with 14 career goals and

38 total points. But even more than the statistics that he accumulated, Greene’s best and most vivid memories will be that of his teammates.

“The last four years were some of the greatest years of my life,” Greene says. “Through all the ups and downs, my team was always there and we always had fun. Soccer at Ripon College will always be something that I remember, and I thank Coach Hershoff for everything he has done and is doing for the program.”

An exercise science major from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Greene plans to attend graduate school at Franklin College in Indiana to pursue a master’s degree in athletic training.

MIKE WESTEMEIER DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATION