Matthew is dedicated to ending middle school bullying one student at a time. When his younger brother was bullied at their middle school, Mathew wanted ‘somebody’ to do ‘something’ about it. The summer of his 8th grade year, he created The Be ONE Project, a community-building and bullying-prevention nonprofit organization for middle school students.
Through team-building games, activities, and guided discussions, Be ONE fosters empathy through shared experience. Students learn to celebrate similarities, rather than tear each other apart over differences.
To date, The Be ONE Project has reached more than 5,000 students across four different states. Today, Matthew leads a team of dedicated program presenters that work with students across Arizona.
Matthew is currently an undergraduate at Duke University, where he self-designed a major around the theme of positive psychology. He was a recipient of a seed grant from The Pollination Project and later named TPP’s Thanksgiving Hero in 2013.
