Matt Wenz ’17 

It’s only his second year at Dickinson, but American-studies major and John Montgomery Scholar Matt Wenz ’17 has already made a mark as a First-Year Mentor, amateur musician and student-leader. A quintessential "people person" who is also a triplet, Matt discusses his evolving career aspirations and ideal major, his love of bringing live acts to campus, the virtues of hard work and respect, and his proudest accomplishment thus far. His advice to new Dickinsonians: When you find a club, event or student organization that interests you, try it out!

Major:

American Studies.

Clubs and organizations:

Multi-Organizational Board (MOB), Tritons Admissions Volunteers, Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Music and First-Year Mentor.

Honors/scholarships/awards:

John Montgomery Scholar, Alpha Lambda Delta and Kappa Delta Pi.

On choosing a major:

American studies is so versatile. It’s incredibly multi-disciplinary, and I wanted the true liberal-arts experience, with as broad a base of information as possible. After speaking to some professors in different majors, I decided to give it a try. I absolutely love it.

On choosing Dickinson:

I felt comfortable here. The faculty and students were so welcoming and supportive when I visited. The class sizes, the involvement opportunities and the diversity of courses and areas of study were huge draws. I came to visit three times, but I think that after the first time, I knew I wanted to be here. The other visits were just excuses to come back and see the campus again.

Post-Dickinson plans:

When I came to Dickinson, I wanted to be a teacher. Toward the end of my freshman year, I realized it wasn’t for me. It took me a while to realize that, eventually, I could turn the work I do with [the Office of] Student Life into a career. That’s my goal; I would love to work at a college in student life.

As a kid, I wanted to be …

This is a little funny, but when I was in kindergarten, the local newspaper wrote a story about my class, because we had two sets of triplets in the same class. (I still don’t think it’s that interesting, but maybe being a triplet has desensitized me to the "wow factor" of it.) I saw the article a while ago. I laughed, because I said I wanted to be the president one day. I could never see myself in politics now.

Little-known skill:

I took classes to become a bartender last summer. I love the hospitality industry, probably because I love working with people.

Proudest accomplishment:

It’s really small, but I have done a lot of work with kids in elementary schools and middle schools, as a tutor and mentor. I was working one day with a student, and he turned to me and said, “Matt, when I get older I want to help students, like you do.” It was such a small thing, but it was incredibly gratifying to know that I had that kind of impact, even on just one student. I’ll never forget it.

In a perfect world …

… people wouldn’t be classified or categorized in any way by race, gender, ethnicity, background, income, education, whatever it may be.

My biggest influence:

My parents, no doubt about it. My dad got a degree in anthropology and ended up as a financial advisor. My mom decided to go back to school this year and got certified as a nurse’s assistant with a 4.0 GPA, which she will never let me forget. The roads they took to find their passions and successes were a little roundabout, but they did it. They are truly incredible, and I’m so blessed that they taught me the values of hard work, determination and respect.

Most important thing I’ve learned (so far):

Get involved in any way you can. Meet people, try new things and find your passions. You can strengthen an old interest or develop new ones. I never thought I would get involved in event planning, but my work with MOB [Multi-Organizational Board] is one of my favorite parts of my Dickinson experience. Involvement can be what will truly define your Dickinson experience.

Learn more

• “Finding Your Place”
• “Making Connections Before Day One”
• Opportunities for Engagement
• Department of American Studies
• Scholarships
• More Student Snapshots
• Latest News

Published March 12, 2015