Playing soccer at The College of Wooster has allowed Jay Keener to travel to several nearby states, including Indiana and Pennsylvania. But last summer Keener made his longest road trip to date when he played soccer with children over 8,000 miles away while on a mission trip in Kenya.

Few students on Wooster's campus are as involved as Keener, who is not only a two-time all-North Coast Athletic Conference defender on the men's soccer team, but also boasts a 3.94 GPA as a chemistry major, and is active in the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, and the volunteer program Homework-4-Hoops. But when classes came to an end last May, Keener chose not to spend his summer break lounging around, but to instead help others in need.

Since his freshman year in high school, Keener has been volunteering his time to go on various mission trips along with others who attend his hometown church. Over the years, Keener has been to Chicago's south side, an old coal mining town in West Virginia, and he even helped rebuild houses in New Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. But it was the trip he took to Kenya last summer that proved to be the most rewarding and eye-opening mission he has embarked on.

"When I got to Kenya, the children had such low self-esteem that they were scared to even look me in the eye," said Keener. "But by the time we were leaving, they were smiling and joking around with us. It's unbelievably rewarding to see the difference we can make in other people's lives."

Keener, who had been to Kenya earlier in the year with his Wooster classmates on a cultural learning trip, returned this time with a much different purpose. Along with Empower Worldwide Outreach, a group dedicated to raising HIV/Aids awareness, Keener spoke to children between 10 and 18 years old in hopes to educate them about a growing cultural problem. During his time there he couldn't help but be taken aback by his surroundings.

"It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, yet it was also the most poor," recalled Keener. "There were children living in homes built by sticks with a piece of sheet metal on top as a roof. When we arrived it was almost like the kids couldn't believe we were there. They were extremely happy to see us."

Perhaps the most important thing Keener was able to bring to the children was smiles, as the Scots' standout held several soccer camps and even played in some games. According to Keener, the children in Kenya love soccer, and promoting healthy options to keep them busy was something the outreach program wanted to preach during the trip.

"These kids really enjoy soccer, it's all they do," said Keener. "They don't have television and the internet to keep them busy so they play soccer. It was fun because it was something that they get extremely excited about."

While Keener says he plans to continue going on more mission trips in the future, he has plenty going on at school to keep him busy as he approaches graduation. He is currently working on his independent study in which he is making a polymer that will omit light when an electrical current is passed through it. He says the technology that he is working with is being used in today's televisions and cell phones.

Keener's hard work in chemistry has not gone unnoticed, as he was awarded the Gary R. Wagner Prize last year as a junior which is given to the student with the "greatest aptitude and who is most likely to succeed in chemistry or biochemistry." He was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa last year – the oldest honor society on campus that recognizes high scholarship.

But what can't be overlooked is Keener's ability on the soccer pitch. Keener has played as the Scots' starting left back since his freshman year, and added third-team Academic All-American to his list of accomplishments last season. While many would struggle with juggling Keener's schedule, he claims he never thinks twice about it.

"For me, I never really had a problem with motivation or having that drive," explained Keener. "I'm so used to being involved and being busy I don't think I would ever be happy any other way."