Volunteer Spotlight: Matt Golden

Wednesday night mentor Matt Golden grew up on the North side of Chicago in the Old Irving neighborhood. He is an only child and his parents still live on the northwest side. Matt says it was great growing up in Chicago because he enjoys the hustle and bustle of a big city. His favorite time of the year is the summer: “Seeing everyone out… going to the beach; to Cubs games… it makes the winters tolerable.”

Matt attended Saint Ignatius College Prep near the University of Illinois at Chicago. He didn’t go to high school with a lot of his friends from grade school, but it was okay because he could ‘make new friends but keep the old.’ After high school, it was time for college in Nashville, Tennessee at Vanderbilt University.

One of his priorities when choosing a school was: he wanted an urban environment, but a campus at the same time. He also wanted to attend a liberal arts school because he was unsure of what to study. Vanderbilt fit both criteria and he went on to love his time there. He majored in economics and Spanish, joined a fraternity, played on the rugby team, and studied abroad in Madrid, Spain!

Since graduating from Vanderbilt in 2007, Matt has worked for Northern Trust financial services company. He works in the equity research department where he analyzes stocks and produces recommendations for clients. He covers technology stocks like Apple and Google and the first thing he does every morning is read the news to see what may affect the stock market.

Speaking of Google, Matt discovered Cabrini Connections through a simple search online for ‘mentoring opportunities in Chicago.’ Since joining the program in April, he has worked with third year student Charles Hill. “I couldn’t be more fortunate to have Charles,” says Matt. “He is incredibly motivated every single Wednesday.”

Matt and Charles have met several times outside of tutoring. Matt has visited Charles in Tech Club and they have gone out to dinner. Matt’s #1 tip for mentors is to find out what your student is interested in, and meeting outside of tutoring is a good way to do that.

Another outside activity Matt is involved in… he is on the Monthly Mixer Planning Committee. He chose to get involved because it “provides an opportunity to network and get to know people.” The next monthly mixer will be on Thursday, October 28th, at 7:30pm at the Motel Bar, which is just across the river from Cabrini Connections. Hopefully Thursday night mentors can head over after their session, and Wednesday night mentors can come, too! We know at least one person will be there. Thanks, Matt!