Senior Archie Matthews is one of the premier examples in our school of a student and a history maker in the making. On Feb. 14 Matthews was given the McDonald’s Black and Positively Golden Scholarship, with representatives from the McDonald’s Corporation coming to our school to personally award him. This is just one of many accomplishments which Matthews has had in his time at our school.
Matthews has only been at our school since his sophomore year, previously attending University Prep Science and Math High School in Detroit, yet he has managed to climb his way to the place of being one of his classes’ top students. In his time here he has joined Student Assembly, our chapter of the National Honor Society, the Varsity Boys Bowling Team, and achieved numerous accomplishments within them. In Student Assembly he took on the role of being the secretary at the end of last school year and for the past two years he has been the captain of the Varsity Boys Bowling Team. Matthews has a younger brother, junior Andrew Matthews, who participates in the JV Boys Bowling Team at our school.
When asked about his upbringing Archie Matthews had this to offer: “I was raised by parents who valued honesty, hard work, and dedication who encouraged me to be a leader rather than a follower when it came to achieving my goals,” Matthews said. Matthews’ work ethic and his parents’ encouragement has obviously led to him becoming the individual he is today. Matthews is well-liked both among students and teachers, with teacher Andrea Burns nominating him as the senior student of the month for the English department, as he exceeds in her AP English Literature class, back in November of 2023. Matthews played the role of Superintendent Mark Blaszkowski in lieu of the original student who was going to this year for our Student School Board, though he initially chose to play the role of the Board Attorney. During said Student School Board he honored Burns right back, choosing her as his teacher to award a plaque to. “I appreciate Archie’s candidness in all situations as well as his ability,” Burns said regarding her relationship with Matthews. He is a key role model that many students can look up to, especially those who may struggle after transferring into our school mid-way through high school.
Matthews has managed to clutch a cumulative 4.0 grade point average and ranks fourth in his class. “I think what led to me achieving my goals was me taking a risk thinking that if I put more hard work in then I’d be able to live comfortably and peacefully in the future,” Matthews said regarding how he achieved such spectacular goals.
