Hello! I'm Matthew Smith.
I’m a student at Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science,
athlete on Crimson Aquatics, and shameful video game addict. I'm from
Northbridge, so before attending Mass Academy I went to Norhbridge
High School. I know, crazy. Anyway, welcome to my website! I’ve
(hopefully) learned so much this year that I’d love to share with
you!
Swimming
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a competitive swimmer, swimming
on Crimson
Aquatics, and I can’t imagine what I’d be without it. Swimming
hasn't only given me physical strength. It's taught me how to be part
of a team, to “just do it,” and how to deal with problems in life.
Things go wrong. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard you try,
you just can't do it. And through swim I've learned to stop that from
getting me down. Over my swim career, I’ve made top ten in New
England, traveled to international meets (like ISCA, International
Swim Coach Association), and made many friendships that I’ll never
forget.
Gaming
It's something I’ve definitely taken too far as a hobby. Ever since I
was a kid, I obsessed over being as good as I could at any game I
could get my hands on. Once my parents finally got me Super Smash
Bros. Ultimate, a competitive fighting game, my fate was sealed. For
hours, I played Smash against my brothers and people online. When a PlayVs team opportunity opened at our high
school, we could finally have something to show for our commitment.
Competing against high schools across Massachusetts, we won 2 seasons
in a row without ever losing a single game.
Cubing
Cubing is another hobby of mine that
I’ve taken quite far. Simply put, it's trying to solve a Rubik's Cube
as fast as possible. It’s easy to lose thoughts and worries in
mindless turns of a cube, which is part of why I love it so much.
What I find really cool about it is how complex it seems at first,
but after doing it over, and over, and over, and over again, it
becomes as easy as tying a shoe. And, once I thought I could do it
pretty well, I see people can do it 100 times faster than me. And I
wonder, “How is that possible?” So I look for how that’s possible.
Finding faster methods, better algorithms, what to look for during a
solve; after a while, those people can… still do it 10 times faster
than me. Yeah. They're really good. While I’ve never gone to any
competitions, I have an unofficial personal best of 24.35 seconds,
and I'm still trying to do better.
Community Service
Family
I'm the middle child of 4, with 2 older brothers who are twins
and both in college, and a little sister who's in 2nd grade. My
parents come from quite different origins, with my father growing up
in rural Illinois and my mother immigrating to the U.S. from Czech
Republic. Lastly, but certainly not least, there's my cat Dusty. He
is very cute. He is also sleeping. Please. Don't wake him up.
