Hey friends! My name is Matthew Joseph Schmidheiser, and this is my first year as a SERVEie! I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on June 19, 1998. Since my father was active duty in the military, my family lived in Virginia Beach until I was six, Pensacola until I was nine, and Medford, New Jersey for the last eight years. In addition to myself and my parents, my family is also home to my sister, Erica, my dog, Sadie, and my three cats, Socks, Teddy, and Howie.
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Back home I ran track from the third grade until I graduated high school, and during middle school I added cross country and rec soccer into the mix. I was also a member of Shawnee’s DECA chapter, a business oriented club focused on roleplay competitions, for four years, and had the privilege of serving as its Co-President my senior year. Outside of school, I served as a junior firefighter and EMT through Medford’s Fire and EMS Junior Program. Each Monday night we would meet to drill on various fire and emergency medicine techniques, from throwing and climbing ladders to caring for car crash victims. Once I turned 17, I was eligible to enroll in EMT School, and this last June I graduated as a certified EMT in the state of New Jersey.
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Here at Virginia Tech I’m currently pursuing a degree in physics with a minor in astronomy, but knowing myself and my indecisiveness that could easily change over the next four years. Physics was my favorite subject in high school because it was the subject that challenged me the most, and as a student who loves to overcome adversity I decided to continue studying it at university. Astronomy is something that began to fascinate me within the last few years – the idea that there are millions of unexplored planets and billions of lightyears of unknown space in the universe feeds my desire for adventure. On clear nights I enjoy taking my telescope out onto the quad and finding the planets in the night sky.
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When I’m not studying, I plan on being involved with several of the clubs, intramurals, and other organizations Virginia Tech has to offer. I’m interested in joining the skydiving club, scuba diving club, and Virginia Tech Rescue Squad to sate my hunger for action and adventure, and plan on getting involved with Student Government and Pritchard’s Hall Council in order to improve my leadership skills and abilities. I also see Student Government and Hall Council as an opportunity to help foster an environment where the enthusiastic Hokie Spirit can continue to thrive.
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My passion for community service and to help others is what inspired me to join SERVE. I understand that I’m very fortunate to live the life I have, and am eager to seize any opportunity to help those that are not as lucky. Furthermore, while the LLC allows me to benefit others, it also allows me to improve upon myself. The opportunities SERVE offers are all brand new experiences to me, even the seemingly small ones such as packaging food at Feeding America and harvesting crops at Plenty. Never before have I lived in an area where a lack of food is a realistic concern, and being exposed to that has changed my perspective on the quality of life in parts of America; not everyone has a grocery store down the street stocked with necessities like I originally thought. I’m especially excited for the international service opportunities SERVE offers – service trips such as the one to the Dominican Republic and Peru are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to help those in dire need and drastically expand my cultural horizons.
I also joined SERVE so that I can pursue the social justice initiatives I feel are important and need to be addressed by society. Prison reform is a subject I am especially passionate about – the current system does not set minor convicts up for rehabilitation, but instead to be forced back into a life of crime because their job opportunities and outreach offers will be next to none because they have a blemish on their record. Instead of condemning offenders to a continued life of crime and incarceration, we need to focus on reforming them into beneficial members of society who can live a successful, fulfilling life. Over the course of my four years in SERVE, I hope to organize community initiatives targeted at helping convicts prove they are willing to change their ways and become valuable members of societies to potential employers and outreach organizations.
Overall, I’m excited for the opportunities SERVE has to offer, from physically performing service to learning about the benefits and harmful effects service can cause, and can’t wait to see how SERVE help me grow!
