VCOM View Magazine Vol. 14 | No. 1

Alumni Spotlight From Sidelines to Surgery: How VCOM Helped Dr. Cris Mathew Find His Field S ometimes when you think an opportunity has passed, it circles back again. Such was the case for Cris Mathew, VCOM by Amy Ostroth

“After working with my orthopedic surgeon, I became passionate about musculoskeletal medicine. He even invited me to scrub in, and I fell in love with the workings of the operating room.” That early inspiration would eventually take Dr. Mathew from the football field in suburban Pennsylvania to the rugby pitch at VCOM, and later to orthopedic surgery suites and pro sports sidelines around the country. At VCOM, Dr. Mathew found more than just academic rigor—he found community. One of his best memories was starting the VCOM rugby team. “We’d study together, work out together, and travel across the state listening to lectures in the car,” he remembers. The team even organized a charity match against PCOM to raise money and brought home a trophy for the VCOM showcase. “It was a way to build friendships, stay balanced, and give back,” he says. After VCOM, Dr. Mathew completed his residency at Northwell Health in New York, where he deepened his interest in sports medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Nicholas Sgaglione, who taught him much about arthroscopic and minimally

Virginia Class of 2012. Two weeks before classes started, he was on his way to visit another college of osteopathic medicine when he got a call from VCOM Virginia. “I was actually the last person accepted into my class,” he recalls. “Without that opportunity, I wouldn’t be where I am today. VCOM truly set my life on a course that I am so grateful for.” Born in Houston and raised in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Dr. Mathew majored in biology at Ursinus College with a minor in human performance assessment. His mother worked as a respiratory therapist, and his father—also named Dr. Mathew— was a physician and mentor to many young doctors. During his junior year of high school, Dr. Mathew injured his knee playing football. The recovery process introduced him to the world of musculoskeletal medicine—and to the idea that the hands of a physician could heal not only bodies, but minds and spirits, too. “I didn’t know what kind of physician I wanted to be until I got hurt,” Dr. Mathew says.

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