- I knew that I wanted to play baseball so I narrowed down my search to schools that had division 1 programs that I feel I could play at.
- Obviously my gpa (3.0) and SAT scores (1160) would limit where I would be accepted.
- I wanted my setting to be urban and close enough to home in order travel easily on hollidays.
- I loved the city of Boston, but I wanted a change of scenery while I had the chance.
When I was about 6- years-old my Uncle Chris decided to attend drama school in Queens, New York. Up to that point I had never seen NYC. My young self saw the move as an opportunity to see this city that stayed up so late. My father was always involved in these moves because he owned the largest vehicle and he was always up for a long drive. I remember that he laid out Chris' mattress in the back of his van so that I could sleep on the long trip down interstate 95. We left before the sun came up and arrived just as its' rays began to peak over Long Island. The first thing I saw as I awoke was a large, glowing bridge that would bring us to Queens. I looked out the back of the van and saw Manhattan, basking in the warm September sun, welcoming us the same way it did my ancestors so many years before. It was at that point I actually looked at my father and told him, "This is where I want to study". It's amazing how someone else's story has so much bearing on your own, and how you can be influenced at such a young age.
I narrowed down my list of schools to 10, just as I was instructed by my guidance counselor. I decided to focus on Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York City, and their surrounding areas. I applied to Boston Colloge, Suffolk University, UMASS Amherst, Northeastern University, University of Delaware, Villanova, George Washington, Fairfield University, Hofstra University, and my number one choice from the very beginning; Fordham University. I dont know what drew me to Fordham as I had never visited nor had seen a picture. It was just one of those things I guess, something just drew me to it.
While I was researching and compiling this list of schools I was also taking part in what are called "baseball showcases". They are exactly what the name indicates; a way in which to showcase your telent. I did pretty well but really nothing that made me stand out. Fortunately though, I was able to develop a relationship with a very important coach named Peter Hughes. At the time, Coach Hughes ran the baseball program at Boston College. Unlike many of my peers at the time, I did not fall in love with the idea of attending BC but I absolutely welcomed it. He told me that I wouldn't be a high-level recruit so I would need to get my SAT scores up, and that he wouldn't promise anything, but he would try to find a spot for me on his team. He also told me that if I ever needed a recommendation that he would gladly vouch on my behalf. Well, I didn't get my board scores up but I was accepeted into Fordham based on my academics and a few great recommendations from some very powerful people from Xaverian.
A few days upon being accepted, I contacted the coaches at Fordham and asked them if I would be able to try out for the team. My contact there was an assistant coach named Nick Restaino. He was surprised by my call because he had thought I would be picked up by then. He told me that he was happy to have me try out, but that he couldn't promise anything. He also told me that if I had anyone that had seen me play and could offer up a recommendation, to have them call him. This was all working out perfectly; I had gotten into the school of my dreams, had an opportunity to play division 1 baseball, and a perfect contact that could help me along. That was when things began to unravel.
I had felt about as good as I ever had so it was natural that I would be knowcked off my perverbially high horse. What happened next was completely unexpected and made me feel more helpless than a mouse about to be constircted by a boa. I received a letter in the mail from Fordham; it was my financial aid package. I've told you before that I come from a humble unbringing so I was relying heavily on scholarships and financial aid. Fordham is a private school and tuition at the time was running almost $50,000 per year. I opened that letter hoping to pay half that, but my hopes were not reality. To make a long story short, I would need either pay out of pocket or borrow about $160,000 in order to cover tuition. I remember sitting down to dinner that night and my parents telling me I would have to choose another school. I immediately lashed out asking, "how could I have worked so hard, done everything I was asked to do, and still be unable to follow my dream"? I just couldn't understand the unfairness. Just as I was questioning myself, my faith, and the justness of the world I received a phone call from Coach Restaino. I quickly moved to another room to hear what he had to say. He had told me that he spoke to Coach Hughes and he was calling to offer me a spot on the Fordham baseball team. I had to explain to him, heartbroken, that I had just recieved my financial aid package and my attending his school was in jeaopardy. You could hear the sorrow in my voice, but his had a glimpse of optomism. He said, "let me call a friend in the financial aid office and see what I can do". I waited anxiously by my phone for what seemed like days until he called back. The call went like this:
Coach Nick: "Matt, I have some great news, I think I may have found a way for you to afford tuition".
Me: (answering quickly and excitedly) "What is it"?
Coach Nick: "Well I spoke to my friend in financial aid and he informed me that he had an academic grant available as long as you are able to keep a 3.0 gpa".
Me: (nervously) "I can handle that".
Coach Nick: "The grant is for $18,500 per year and you will be able to keep the $7,500 that was already a part of your package".
Me: (speechless)
Coach Nick: So that would be $26,000 a year you wouldn't need to pay, is that something your family could afford"?
Me: (still basically speeachless) Yes, thank you very much for your help, this is unbelievable, thank you so much".
The rest was pretty basic but you get the point.
I returned to the dinner table with a smile reaching all the way to the bottoms of my feet, I literally felt elecrtified. I told them what had happened and we celebrated.
There I was, about as down on myself and the system of the world that I had ever been, but a sliver of hope was thrown my way. The events that had led up to that day are still so clearly entrenched in my mind. I can honestly say that was one of the most substantial events of my life. I had been raised to believe in hope and kharma but I never understood the power of these seemingly supernatural things. I remember laughing at my parents when they said things like, "what goes around comes around", and "I won't take advantage of that person for fear that I will be taken advantage of in the future". I learned that day that they couldn't have been more accurate. There I was, one step away from reaching the goal in which I had worked so diligently for, only to be disappointed. But the universe picked me back up. It was only through the gift of hindsight that I could look back and see how each event led to the next, and how they led me so carefully through the learning process. I would never again doubt the system of the universe, nor would I lose hope. I needed to experience the feeling of hurt in order to realize how lucky I was to be in my position. From here on I would avoid the feeling of discouragement because if you continue to believe, anything is possible.
Matt, Keep up the writing. I look forward to reading each day when I get home. I love to hear about your past experiences and understand how they have contributed to building the wonderful person that you are today.
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