Four-Time All-American Set to Graduate from Manor College
Eddie Fortescue Jr. (Wissahickon High School) will also be the Commencement Speaker representing Bachelor’s Degree students.
Eddie Fortescue’s athletic resume can be compared to Manor College’s greatest athletes: Four-time USCAA All-American. Six-time USCAA All-Academic team. Three-sport athlete.
The moments might even eclipse that resume: The last-minute goal to beat Central Penn College to win the ESAC Men’s Soccer Championship in October 2023. A three-point buzzer-beater to beat the rival Bucks County Community College a few months later led the Blue Jays to the USCAA National Championship Tournament.
Fortescue will graduate in May from Manor College with his Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. The aspect of his time at Manor he’ll miss the most isn’t the championships or the games, but the little moments created with teammates.
“I’m going to miss the community and the unity of everyone – my teammates, my coaches, my friends, and the faculty,” Fortescue said. “Even through the ups and downs, everyone is always there for you.”
Fortescue transferred to Manor College for the Fall 2020 semester. He wasn’t allowed to play multiple sports at his prior institution and focused on baseball. The longer he played one sport, the more he yearned to be on the soccer field and the basketball court.
He began looking up colleges local to his Blue Bell home and found Manor. It took one conversation with Athletic Director John Dempster for Fortescue to realize Manor was his new home. Fortescue joined an offseason practice to see the environment and meet the team.
“I just saw the way (Dempster) cared for his athletes,” Fortescue said. “He wants them to be successful both on the field and in the future.”
Dempster’s on-field lessons have real-life applications, Fortescue said.
“He knows how to joke around and have a good time, but he also knows when to focus up and be serious,” Fortescue said. “That was our success. We knew when we needed to focus and when we knew we could lighten up. That’s life. You have to have fun in life, but also know when you need to focus.”
After graduation, Fortescue hopes to enroll in a Master’s Degree program that would allow him to play one more year while continuing his pursuit of a job in Athletics, preferably in the coaching or business aspects. First, he’ll be the Student Speaker representing the Bachelor’s Degree students at Manor College’s graduation.
In his speech, Fortescue will emphasize the gravity and accomplishment of achieving a college degree.
“It’s an accomplishment because having that degree helps you do what you want to do in life,” Fortescue said. “Life isn’t easy. Coming here and learning from other people and their stories gave me life lessons and prepared me for other hardships in life. I want people to know how much of an achievement getting a degree truly is.”
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2024 Commencement Speaker Gregory E. Deavens
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