Day 11
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the higher education institutions Matthew attended— Middlebury College and the University of Buffalo Law school.
Since Middlebury was seven hours away and we were pretty much removed from Matthew’s UB experience, it’s a bit more difficult to think of stories about Matthew at these two schools.
I know Matthew loved both schools and was proud of the fact that he attended them. He played football and JV hockey (which he loved being a member of that team) at Middlebury. Matt had some dear friends on the football and JV hockey teams, but he had many other Midd Kids as friends too. Matthew loved talking about his friends, and each one sounded more intelligent than the next. Over the years, we had met about a dozen of his good friends, many of whom still keep in touch with us and continue to be extremely supportive—it’s pretty comforting knowing his friends have become our friends.
Matt, also talked about a few professors, one in particular that I remember, Professor Murray Dry. Professor Dry taught Matthew constitutional law and political philosophy. Although it was extremely challenging, Matthew absolutely loved Professor Dry and his lectures. Matthew used to say that Professor Dr was brilliant. One thing that did annoy Matt was oftentimes he had to be late for football practice because Professor Dry was regularly going past the lecture time allotted for the class. Matt said Professor Dry was an extremely dynamic teacher, and many times after his lectures, he would be perspiring by the end of them because he put his heart, soul, and body into the lectures. On graduation day, Professor Dry invited Matthew, along with a few other students and their families, to his home, for a memorable, intimate celebration. After speaking with Professor Dry, it was obvious why Matthew loved him so much. Matthew visited Professor Dry one last time in March of 2019 and came home even more appreciative of Professor Dry’s knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the constitution and the law.
Matthew would often talk about his coaches. He loved them, and over the years he kept in touch with a few of them. Of course he would mention Coach Ritter and Coach Paquette often. Coach Mandigo would regularly check on Matthew, even years after Matt graduated. In fact, at the end of May 2019, Coach Mandigo texted me to see how Matt was doing. At that point, it appeared as though he had turned the corner on his struggles.
I will always be grateful for the deans and professors at UB Law school, who gave Matthew three chances at attending. He succeeded and struggled and then succeeded and struggled and succeeded and struggled once more. We just didn’t realize how deep those struggles were. I don’t think Matthew could have found more caring law professors than he did at UB. He would talk about five or six of them regularly, and he was so excited when they would give him the time outside of class to have discussions about law-related topics. Since Matthew was a young boy, he had a burning desire for justice and the truth, and he loved talking and debating about many different topics. UB seemed to be the perfect place for him.
We found so much of Matthew’s words on his computer after he had passed. They revealed another side of him that I am not sure I really fully knew. For someone who appeared to have success wherever he went , he felt the same insecurities that many of us feel.
“Whenever I struggled socially, I spent my time diving into my studies and my sports. College football was tough, and I thought I might not be able to make it. I felt dumb for the first time in my life in my classes. Studying political philosophy for the first time in my life made me realize how little I knew. It was a challenge. Yet, I was never scared of a challenge.” -Matthew Benedict
For my #12 physical challenge, I did 12 different types of stretches.
For my donation—-I am still thinking about it.
For my act of kindness—I bought some little gifts for some people who need little gifts.
https://www.12challenge.org/