Winner in Music on March 21st, 2010
Matt, a senior, is an outstanding student and exceptional musician. He holds a 5.20 weighted grade point average, scored 32 on the ACT and 2040 on the SAT. He was named a National Merit Finalist and an AP Scholar with Honor. Matt is a member of the National Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society. He was the recipient of the Jefferson Book Award for his scholarship, leadership and citizenship. He started playing the violin when he was 3. Since then, he has learned to play the piano, electric violin, viola, keyboards, rhythm guitar and bass guitar. Matt is a member of the Memphis Youth Symphony, which has four levels. He started playing the violin with the String Ensemble in the fourth grade, which is younger than most participants. Two years later he advanced to the String Sinfonia, where he played the violin for one year and the viola for two years. He then played the viola in the String Orchestra for two years. He spent his junior year and this year playing in the Youth Symphony. Matt's music experience is not limited to live performance. He has been recorded individually and as a group for a music CD produced by the MUS Recording Arts Program. During his junior year, Matt began playing with the MUS Studio Band. In addition, Matt is head of the school's Peer Tutoring Program and a mentor in the Eighth Grade Mentoring Program. He has written for the school newspaper and his artwork was selected for the cover of the school's literary journal. Matt uses his musical talents by playing the violin at the Grace Healthcare Center in Cordova. He also has volunteered for the MIFA Meals on Wheels program and delivered Christmas food baskets to home-bound senior citizens and the poor. He has served meals at a homeless shelter in West Memphis and volunteered to sell cookbooks at the Merry Marketplace for the Junior League of Memphis. Matt spent this past summer working as a leader and mentor for SLAM, MUS's summer leadership development program for fifth through eighth graders.
