Rutgers–Camden Student-Athlete Makes His Mark in Soccer and Science
On the pitch or in the lab, student-athlete Ethan Dreyer has found success on the Rutgers University–Camden campus. The senior Scarlet Raptor midfielder serves as captain of the men’s soccer team and, after considering other STEM-centered majors, discovered his niche in the chemistry program, where he conducts sustainability research under the guidance of Associate Professor David Salas-de la Cruz.
“Ethan is a natural leader with a strong work ethic,” Salas-de la Cruz said. “He is a quick learner who collaborates effectively with both undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty members. He is also highly independent, taking the initiative to read and research on his own.”
On The Field
Dreyer has played soccer since he was eight years old but did not initially factor in the sport when choosing where to go to college. Then, Scarlet Raptors Coach Tim Oswald reached out and offered Dreyer a tour of campus, including the Community Park, where the team plays amid a sweeping view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and Philadelphia skyline. The school’s in-state affordability and competitive soccer program attracted Dreyer to Rutgers–Camden, where he enrolled as a health sciences major.
Named captain after his sophomore season, Dreyer, a three-year letterman, is counted on as a leader both on and off the pitch. “We get the team together in the off season a lot. We're always in the Fitness Center, playing pickup in the Auxiliary Gym, and we always try to get the guys together, keeping contact with the players, making sure they hear the messages that our coach sends in our group chat or tells us,” he explained. “On the field, too, I just try to connect with everyone on the team.” Dreyer and his teammates have earned high academic marks as well; last year, the men’s, and women’s, soccer programs earned the 2023-2024 United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award, posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
“Ethan stands out as one of Rutgers–Camden’s highest-achieving student-athletes,” said Acting Director of Athletics Tom Thomasson. “The entire athletics department has enjoyed getting to know him during his time as a student worker with us, and we are proud of the way Ethan represents the university on and off the field.”
In The Lab
Dreyer explored different STEM fields in the Rutgers–Camden College of Arts and Sciences before landing on a chemistry major, driven by the program’s emphasis on problem-solving and mathematics. He sought research experience with a chemistry professor and was referred to Salas-de la Cruz. “Dr. Salas has a lot of opportunities for undergrads looking for research,” Dreyer said. “He welcomed me right away.”
Dreyer’s role is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Through the grant, he participated in a NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions summer program in 2023. “He spent three weeks at Murray State University in Kentucky under the mentorship of Kevin Miller, chair and professor of organic and polymer chemistry,” Salas-de la Cruz explained. “There, he gained expertise in polymer synthesis and characterization. He then applied this knowledge in our lab, continuing to synthesize natural materials for the fabrication of films aimed at carbon sequestration—a method of capturing and storing carbon dioxide to reduce climate change.”
Since joining the Salas-de la Cruz Lab in spring 2023, Dreyer not only has amassed hands-on experience, but he has found the lab has better equipped him in class as well. “I started doing research very early into my chemistry program, so now I’ll go into classes and see the molecules and reagents we’re working with,” he said. “I recognize them, I know what they are, and then I reapply them back to my lab.”
Further, Dreyer is now credited as a contributor to a paper that was written by Salas-de la Cruz and other researchers. “My role was mostly synthesis and characterization of products (running tests on them for data),” he said.
Dreyer is considering pursuing a mathematics minor and possibly a fifth year at Rutgers–Camden to pursue a graduate degree in chemistry. Looking beyond, he hopes to leverage his STEM education into a role in the health care field and ultimately become a physician assistant. Before that happens, however, the senior has plenty to reflect on from his time at Rutgers–Camden so far.
“I’m appreciative of my mentors, like my coach bringing me here, letting me play soccer here, giving me a spot on the team, and making me captain,” Dreyer said. “Dr. Salas has been very patient. He's taught me a lot. My experience in the lab has been invaluable.”
