Matthew Matheney (’17, ’19) spent his time at Truman studying Mathematics and Physics, then went on to receive his Master of Arts in Education through Truman’s MAE program. As a student, he also participated in several organizations, including True Men, Truman’s all-male a cappella group, and the National Education Association, a nation-wide organization dedicated to supporting future educators. Matheney was a member of two honor societies: Kappa Delta Pi for education and Sigma Pi Sigma for physics.
Now a math and science teacher at Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, Matheney is motivated by his vision for the future. He finds himself living by this mantra: “Find enlightenment in the experience, joy in the journey, and peace in the progress.” His advice for other Bulldogs – focus on the process of doing of a task rather than its completion in order to find lasting fulfillment and happiness.
Matheney stays busy outside of classroom teaching. He is a Taekwondo instructor, an active outdoorsman, a runner, poet and tabletop game designer. He is publishing his first game this year, a family-friendly card game called Feed You Later Alligator.
Matheney was back on campus as the commencement speaker in May and will return to teach for Truman’s Joseph Baldwin Academy (JBA), a summer program for academically talented pre-college students. His class, Beyond the Board: Building Better Games, will allow him to share his love of game design by teaching students to think like a designer, helping them analyze games and giving them the opportunity to talk with professionals in game development.