2018 Education Enrichment Fund Scholar — Hope College
When Matthew was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2011, he didn’t know what it was, but he knew it couldn’t be good. He kept hearing people say, “Keep it on the down low. People will treat him differently if they know.”
During his first few months of having continuous grand mal seizures, Matthew spent his days anxiously anticipating the next one. He longed for help and to understand the new lifestyle he would have to live. No one at his school knew what to do in the event of a seizure and Matthew learned that he had fellow classmates who were scared to admit they had epilepsy, which is all too commonplace.
Matthew decided to act. He created his own epilepsy fundraising group, Matthew’s Mob, joined the Summer Stroll for Epilepsy in Midland, and created the Epilepsy Awareness Hockey Game, which this past year raised more than $18,000 in a single game.
Matthew’s fighting spirit as someone with epilepsy led him to the doors of the United States Military Academy. Matthew will attend Hope College in the fall to become a Neurologist with a specialty in Epileptology, as more research in the field of epilepsy is needed.
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