The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas Lottery Veteran Recognition: Dr. Max Wright
11.03.2023 | Longhorn Sports Properties / Learfield
The Marine Major-select and Special Operations Officer will be honored when Texas Football hosts Kansas State on Nov. 4.
The obligation to public service is the thread that unites Max Wright and his fields of practice. In 2007, he joined the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer and served for 10 years as a leader, combat commander and special operative on multiple operations worldwide. In 2023, he graduated from the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and currently serves the university as a first-year emergency medicine resident.
"With the Marines and with medicine, it started as a feeling of something I should do," said Wright, who also earned his undergraduate history degree from UT in 2004. "The reason you start to do something is rarely the reason you keep doing it."
Wright joined the Marine Corps when the nation was entrenched in conflicts throughout the Middle East. He served for three years as a logistics officer and said he planned to end his active service after his initial four-year commitment, but the opportunity to train and deploy as a special operations officer turned into a leadership calling. Wright experienced multiple combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, as well as support operations in 13 other countries. In his last active tour, Wright served as commander of the Marine Special Operations Team 8333.
"It was a privilege to lead some of the world's finest," Wright said. "Leadership is taxing and rewarding, because my success is dependent on shaping space for others to do their job. You build trust by showing trust and giving others the opportunity to prove themselves. If leaders take care of the people, they will take care of every task and will not let you down."
Wright said medicine had always been in the back of his mind, and his work with the Marines offered unique exposure. During his various civil affairs deployments, medical outreach was a service component of the mission, and Wright said he felt how rewarding it was to provide communities with access to life-saving resources. As an officer, Wright was also trained in basic procedural skills so he could assist during situations of combat trauma.
"That all brought medicine to the forefront," Wright said. "It goes back to the theme of service, because people care about their loved ones, and they appreciate people who can do something to help in those scary moments when they are desperate for recovery."
In August 2017, Wright separated from active service to begin the medical school program. He continued working as a military advisor to Somalia from 2017-2023. Now as an emergency medical physician, Wright uses the leadership skills refined in military service –such as communicating clear expectations, providing direct feedback and maintaining accountability – in the emergency room to coordinate interdisciplinary teams.
"As the physician, I have ultimate responsibility for what happens or doesn't happen," Wright said. "In every situation, I want to establish expectations with guidance for how we are going to approach a problem and work the plan."
Wright said his undergraduate studies at UT in humanities helped him to think about the tangible and intangible, to not take everything at face value and to ask questions for better understanding. Similarly, as a Dell-trained physician, Wright says he learned to not close the book too early and to keep asking questions to understand best patient care.
"There are many circumstances that affect a person's health," Wright said. "In the emergency room, I am often meeting patients in some of the worst moments. They are scared and hurting. It's an honor to serve in those situations."
