Thriving Against All Odds
Oswego East grad shares his rough start with BHS freshmen
Imagine getting kicked out of three schools for fighting, drugs, and other disciplinary issues, barely graduating from Oswego East High School after five years, and then turning the ship around to graduate with honors from Wheaton College and earn a paid graduate degree from the University of Chicago. Impossible? Nope. Matthew Vega did exactly that and told his story to Batavia High School freshmen and Link Crew members during a recent assembly.
BHS Assistant Principal Sara Thomas introduced Mr. Vega to the crowd of freshmen. During her intro, she told students that she was Mr. Vega’s P.E. teacher when they were both at Oswego East High School … and admitted that he was a bit of a mess.
“Matt didn’t participate in my class one day. He almost failed out of school. He was arrested. He got kicked out of three schools,” she said. “Today, the University of Chicago is paying Matt to go to school.”
Mrs. Thomas invited Mr. Vega to speak to students to show them that it really doesn’t matter where you come from or your baggage. “We all have that,” she said. “You can still come out on top.”
So, how did Mr. Vega overcome his titanic challenges?
“I don’t have a set formula,” he told students. “I will, however, give you one small nugget of wisdom. Ask yourself, ‘Who are you choosing to listen to?’ The voices we listen to determine our future. Do we trust the loudest and most aggressive voices? Do we have an allergic reaction to parents’ or teachers’ voices?”
To illustrate his point, Mr. Vega had a two student volunteers come down to the gym floor and put on a blindfold. He had additional volunteers split into two teams. Half of a team was given the directive to help a blindfolded student take an object from point A to point B. The other half of a team was given the directive to give a blindfolded student the wrong directions. The exercise showcased how confusing it can be to get mixed messages, and how sometimes the loudest voice wins.
Mr. Vega said his turnaround came when he started listening to his teachers and trusting them.
“Your teachers want to see you become the best possible version of yourself,” he explained. “Once I started trusting this, doors started opening up for me.”
Mr. Vega challenged BHS students to find a teacher, administrator, and/or counselor and ask them, “What can I do to make Batavia High School a better place?” Once he started asking about ways he could serve others, Mr. Vega said his world changed.
“People started trusting me more and it literally took me places. I got to travel to Ethiopia, Turkey, and Greece,” he explained. “I also ended up with the most beautiful woman in the world, and that’s my wife.”
Mr. Vega concluded his presentation with this poem that punctuates the idea that you are the captain of your ship, so manage your time, actions, and decisions wisely:
“Life is just a minute only sixty seconds in it, forced upon you, can’t refuse it. Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it, but it‘s up to you to use it. You must suffer if you lose it, give an account if you abuse it, just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.”
— Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
