Texas Goalkeeper’s Work for Others Nets SEC Community Service Honor

By Luke Lawhorn

Reporting Texas

 

Like the rest of the University of Texas student-athletes, Megan Hogate received a bunch of Nike athletic gear when she stepped on campus in fall 2021. After watching the shoe boxes pile up in her closet, she decided to do something with them.

She would recycle them into Valentine’s Day boxes with heart-filled messages for children at the Dell Children’s Medical Center. 

“It was in January that she started to ask people to collect shoe boxes,” recalled Megan’s father, Scott Hogate. “I’m like, ‘How’d you come up with that?’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t know, I was just looking at all my shoe boxes in the closet.’ She’s artsy and crafty, but that’s her nature.”

Hogate’s Valentine initiative was just one of many volunteer and community outreach efforts she’s undertaken, earning her recent recognition by the Southeastern Conference to its annual women’s soccer Community Service Team — the first time Texas, a new SEC member, has placed an athlete on the team. She is one of 16 student-athletes chosen for the honor highlighting “an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.”

The senior backup goalkeeper from Orange, Calif., also volunteered at Longhorn Halloween, led Texas’ inaugural Special Olympics Field Day, traveled on two international service trips and serves on the Texas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“It was a surprise,” Hogate said. “I didn’t even know I had won until I walked into our dining hall and all my teammates were congratulating me.” 

Her service at UT dates to when she was a freshman and learned of Courts for Kids, an international service project where volunteers build courts so children around the world can play sports. She began volunteering in her free time and traveled to Guatemala and Costa Rica.

“Immediately I was so drawn to that and was ready to sign up,” Hogate said. 

Long before moving to Texas and becoming a full-time student-athlete, Hogate says she was always motivated to give back to others. 

Her parents grew up involved in their community and continued to be plugged in when raising Megan and her two brothers. Her mother, Kate, spent time as a volunteer soccer coach and as the school auction chair while Scott ran the PTA for a couple of years along with refereeing soccer, among other things.

Scott Hogate said that volunteering as a family has always made their experiences enjoyable and kept the family close.

“It’s just the way our family is,” he said. “And from that, she is very mature for her age. When she was much younger she took that literally and was always engaged and is a leader.” 

Megan Hogate’s leadership qualities caught the attention of Texas soccer head coach Ange Kelly, who recruited Hogate to Austin. Kelly remembers hearing of Hogate’s field command at soccer games as a ninth-grader while on club teams or playing in big college showcases. 

“Character’s a really important factor in the recruiting process for me,” Kelly said. “Everybody knows that she’s the first to put her hand up and be the first to sign up for anything.”

Hogate says she is drawn to working with children. Hogate credited the people in her life for her upbringing and said she would like to give others the opportunities she had. 

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for kids that they just don’t quite know about,” Hogate said. “Sometimes you need somebody to guide you the whole way and let them know what’s out there and what’s in your future and what your future can hold.”

Hogate will graduate from UT with an exercise science degree and plans to continue her community service. She plans to use connections made through the Leadership Experience program at UT when she returns to California.

Like the gear given to athletes upon coming to campus, Hogate says she’s always been appreciative of what’s been given to her. Because of her experiences, she wants to make sure she always makes time for giving back to the community. 

“Just coming from a stance of being grateful, I think you realize how much people give you when they can,” Hogate said. “You have to do the same going forward in your communities, even outside of the university. Whatever you have to give, I think, should be given towards other people. Whether it’s time, service or anything.”