NSS alumnus achieving goals with surgical precision
As a former alpine ski racer and current medical student, Matthew Topham has always had his eyes on the finish line.
Topham graduated from the National Sport School (NSS) in 2018, and shortly before that, he arrived at a difficult decision. With a gift for speeding down the slopes and a dream of becoming a doctor, living out the best of both worlds would be easier said than done.
“I had received some offers from schools in the States, but it just wasn’t something that really intrigued me,” Topham says of his prior ski scholarship options. “I kind of had made up my mind that I wanted to pursue academics, and I had wanted to do medicine ever since I was in Grade 7. I already knew what I wanted to do, and it was whether ski racing was going to fit into that.”
During his high school years, Topham was doing his studies remotely on most Fridays and periodic Thursdays. When it came to Grades 11 and 12, he was able to step outside the classroom for all of November due to training camp and ski races in Sweden.
“(The teachers) would help me juggle all my priorities and ensure that I was going into that opportunity with my athletics in a way that was sustainable not only for my well-being in my sport, but also my mental well-being,” details Topham. “I found that to be very helpful in my academics. I can recall emailing Ms. Biegler while away for a check-in every week and she was there to uplift me, which is different from any school I’ve been to or any school I’ve heard of. It’s really something special.”
The now-former competitive skier was introduced to the slopes at the age of two and ended up racing for 13 years, including two years of FIS, the highest level of competition. Topham then went all-in on his post-secondary journey at the University of Calgary, although he remained involved in the sport until recently as a coach with the Calgary Alpine Racing Club. To top it all off, he even came back to the NSS’ WinSport campus regularly to volunteer his time as a peer tutor.
He completed his undergraduate degree in biological sciences, during which time a professor approached him to assist with a research project on a surgical robot using computer-aided design.
From there, Topham started a master’s program in biomedical engineering. Soon thereafter, he was accepted into medical school and selected for the prestigious Leaders in Medicine program.
“I’m quite a dreamer,” Topham humbly declares. “In 10 years from now, I’ll have completed medical school and gone through residency, so I’ll be a practicing doctor. I hope by that time I’m some sort of surgeon. With my research, I really would love to have it go into commercialism and have a surgical robot being used or at least tested. I want to be at the forefront of that.”
With no shortage of ski racing accolades and an extraordinarily bright future ahead of him in the field of medicine, Topham contends the NSS helped make it all possible.
“Teachers will see you for your potential and really encourage you to reach the upper limit of what’s possible,” urges Topham. “It’s an amazing school that offers young athletes some incredible opportunities. I know plenty of people in my year who have succeeded in their sport and in life. You learn a lot about how to be a student, how to manage your time, how to be a leader, how to communicate, and how to be an advocate. You learn so many things that you won’t learn elsewhere.”
WinSport/NSS 30th Anniversary Celebration
The National Sport School is unique in Canada. Since 2011, when the school relocated to Canada Olympic Park, 654 graduates have continued high-level sport, building upon the school’s legacy of success from when it first opened in 1994.
Together with WinSport, the NSS is celebrating 30 years of excellence during a special event on May 15, 2025, at the WinSport Event Centre. The evening will be filled with memories and success stories. You can learn more about the evening and purchase tickets at the link below.
Learn more and purchase WinSport/NSS 30th Anniversary Tickets