Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease while still in high school, defender Devon McTavish has been living with the illness for eight years, but it “hasn’t stopped him from becoming an established member of both D.C. United and the greater Washington, D.C. community.”
Building on a “quiet,” “under the radar” college career at West Virginia to a regular starting spot in his second and third years in the league, McTavish is also making his mark outside of RFK with involvement with the Patient Services Incorporated (PSI), the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and help in raising money and awareness “about soccer goalpost safety following the tragic death of a young soccer player who hailed from his hometown of Winchester, Va.”
The key to McTavish’s personal and professional development was to “associate with the right kind of people” like veterans Ben Olsen, Greg Vanney and Brian Namoff, and his presence within the community is nothing new within the D.C. organization, who “bestows on you as rookies that you need to get involved,” says McTavish.