Naval Health Clinic (NHC) Corpus Christi announced Sailors of the Quarter (SOQ) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, Jan. 30.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jeremiah Matthews, Senior SOQ; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Eugene Smith, Junior SOQ; and Hospitalman Austin Domenech, Bluejacket of the Quarter, were selected by NHC Corpus Christi's panel of senior enlisted leaders from a field of 16 exceptional Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and Fort Worth candidates.

Capt. Guido F. Valdes, commanding officer of NHC Corpus Christi, announced the winners in a written command-wide message.

"I am very pleased to announce the nominees and selectees for Bluejacket, Junior, and Senior Sailor of the Quarter, fiscal year 17 first quarter," said Valdes. "All the candidates were outstanding. I am proud to have them on our team!"

The three selectees serve at the Corpus Christi facility.

Matthews, a Montgomery, Alabama native, enlisted in the U.S. Navy July 2007. He is the Optometry leading petty officer, and he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2016 from University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Currently he is completing requirements for a master's degree.

Matthews attributes his selection in part to a positive attitude, and he has advice for Sailors aspiring to become SOQs or Sailors of the Year.

"Have the self-discipline to continue to strive to be the best version of yourself every day," he said.

The Junior SOQ hails from Chicago, is a 2001 Mt. Carmel High School graduate, and enlisted in the Navy July 2008. Smith currently manages RelayHealth secure messaging in Medical Home Port, and he articulates his pride in serving as a Navy hospital corpsman.

"I enjoy helping my junior Sailors," Smith said. "I want to think that I am training them to one day be able to save someone's life in clinic or on the battlefield. I think it's a huge honor to wear this uniform to be able to serve this great country and our veterans and beneficiaries."

Regular training at NHC Corpus Christi is also essential, according to Smith.

"It enables us to see the big picture in the quality of care that we are providing to our patients and the goals that are set for us at Navy Medicine," he said.

For Domenech, a general duty corpsman from Ocala, Florida, assisting in Optometry is a satisfying experience.

"Although my job in Optometry is small in comparison to the big picture, I believe we do play an important part for the new pilots being able to stay in flight status, as well as the other active-duty folks getting ready to deploy."

The three Navy hospital corpsmen SOQs will be publicly recognized at an awards ceremony Feb. 16.

The Navy's Hospital Corps consists of more than 30,000 active-duty and Reserve Navy hospital corpsmen who deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, in both wartime and peacetime. The rating is the largest, most professionally diverse and highly-decorated enlisted corps in the Navy.

NHC Corpus Christi and its Naval Branch Health Clinics Kingsville and Fort Worth provide ambulatory care services to over 13,000 enrolled patients comprised of military active duty, their family members, retirees and their family members in south Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth. In addition, the command's detachment in San Antonio provides primary care services to Navy students at the Medical Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston, and case management services and medical board management to Navy and Marine Corps wounded, ill, and injured (WII) warriors at San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC).

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, visit http://www.navy.mil/.