Noble's Nashoba Mata – Academic Athlete of the Month Presented by Republic Bank & Trust

by Elissa Lyons

Nashoba Mata is a senior on the Noble High soccer team. This is his second year as a starter for the Bears. He’s also on the Bears football team where he earned Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman.

Mata is assured his team will be ready this upcoming season.

“I’m pretty confident we’ll do good this season,” he said. “Overall, we’re stronger and more aggressive. We want that trip to state this year. We’ve got a lot of seniors on the team so we want to go out with a bang. We all get along and connect well as a team so I think our chances are pretty good.”

Mata maintains a 3.5 GPA with a lot on his plate. He maintains his normal class work, practice times, work schedule, and tries to squeeze in time to hang out with his friends. He enjoys reading and relaxing with some game time.

Mata is applying to The University of Oklahoma and plans to get his core curriculum out of the way so he can apply for law school.

“I like to argue a lot,” he laughed. “I also try to see the justice in things, view things from the other person’s perspective. If I see things as unfair I try to say something.”

Mata credits his mother as to why he wants to be a lawyer.

“My mom has always told me I’m good at arguing,” he said. “That it’s good to stand up for myself and for others. My mom taught me how to act, behave, and do better as a person. She’s always been my biggest influence.”