Impact Of A Scholarship: Charles "Mookie" Golden

During his time at the University of Maryland, Charles “Mookie” Golden was able to forge his path from walk-on student-athlete with the wrestling team, to becoming a team captain and earning a scholarship for the hard work he put in. 

However, his journey to success began long before his time at Maryland. Golden (2005-10) grew up in an athletic family, as his father had received multiple Division I scholarship offers in swimming, but ultimately decided to play basketball at Division II Albany State University in Georgia. 

Golden too shared this passion for athletics, and found himself performing at a high level from a young age. 

“I was a really good athlete from the jump. I started playing sports when I was 5 or 6,” he said. “I just did what I loved and what my friends were doing.”

It wasn’t until high school that Golden was introduced to wrestling. He explained that it was something challenging but very rewarding. This led him to continue the sport through his senior year of high school and with a good amount of success as well. 

“The second year I ended up being a starter. I was a district champ that year. I began to realize I didn’t have a chance to play football or baseball at the next level. I just focused my junior and senior year on wrestling. The rest is history,” he said. 

When Golden had decided to come to the University of Maryland, it had not originally been to continue his athletic career. Golden has always taken pride in his academic success and took the opportunity to come to Maryland once he had been accepted. 

“I was a 4.0 student and it was all about academics at the end of it for me. I got into Maryland and I actually didn't come to Maryland to wrestle, I came for the academics. I wanted to get into the business school or do economics there,” he said.

Fortunately for Golden, he ended up living on the same floor as several of the freshman wrestling recruits. He explained that they quickly became good friends and they had convinced him to attend team workouts to try and walk on to the wrestling team in 2005. 

At these workouts, Golden caught the attention of then-Terps wrestling head coach Pat Santoro, and was offered a position on the team. 

“I always thought I could wrestle Division I, but no one really inspired me to do that until I met Pat,” Golden said. 

Through this hard work, Golden was able to earn a scholarship offer entering his fourth year at Maryland. He was named a team captain and had a standout out season at 133 pounds. 

“I gained a lot of credibility with Pat and he put me on a scholarship going into my senior year. I never thought that that would happen,” he said. “Just someone believing in you, and you already having that ability, and more importantly already having that grit and that will is what got me to that point.”

When Golden earned his scholarship, he explained that it was a moment he will never forget. He felt that all of his hard work had paid off, and used the opportunity as motivation to work even harder. 

“In some ways at that moment I kind of expected it because I put in the work. Coming into my freshman year I didn't really know what it meant to put in that kind of work,” he said. “It was very fulfilling at that moment to earn a scholarship.”

Golden explained that his best memories from his time at Maryland came from both athletics and the relationships he was able to create. While his favorite memories with the wrestling team included winning ACC Championships in 2008 and 2009 and finishing 10th in the nation in 2009, he noted that his best memory really came when meeting Coach Santoro for the first time.

“The day that I met Pat Santoro, it just was such a life changer. It really propelled my life in a different direction, and I still have so many great friends from that day. And that allowed me to meet (Maryland women’s basketball legend) Kristi Toliver, and she’s like my sister now,” he said.

Currently, Golden is a franchisee with Jersey Mike’s Subs in the DMV. Along with his business partner, he is the owner and operator of five locations and is in the process of opening seven more. Golden had always had an interest in entrepreneurship and franchising, and took the opportunity to become a franchisee when it arose.

During his time at Maryland, Golden also met his future wife, Jen Faith, and they were married this past summer in Los Angeles. 

“My wife is from LA,” he said. “We actually met on my 21st birthday. It was my fourth year of college and I went down to Miami with some of my friends. My wife and I met there and we just remained friends for the last 13 years, and we got married in August.”

Golden attributes a lot of his current success to his time at Maryland, and being a scholarship athlete. Being on scholarship has opened a lot of doors for Golden, and helped him become successful today. He explained that the network he gained was the most beneficial thing to him.

“You don't even understand what those relationships mean in the moment, when you're at school. Those are lifelong relationships that really help you to transition into the real world,” he said.

Golden also shows a lot of gratitude for the donors of his scholarship and added that he also gives back to the Maryland athletic department and wants to make a difference for more future athletes.

“Scholarships and believing in someone is one of the most powerful things that we can do. I'm now able to give back to Maryland Athletics because that power of mentorship and the power of believing in someone creates a ripple effect, and that's what we want for our kids,” he said. “I think believing in somebody can definitely propel them in the world.”