Student Spotlight on Matt Frank, Class of 2022

For my interview, I had the chance to work with Matt Frank. Matt is 17 and was born on July 11th, 2003 and is a junior. Matt was born in Pittsburgh and has lived either there or in Virginia Beach over the years. Growing up Matt’s favorite shows were Spongebob and the Power Rangers, but he also enjoyed watching car movies as well. Now that he is older, Matt doesn’t have a favorite genre or tv show but he enjoys watching Jeopardy, Umbrella Academy and shows similar to that. Matt also listens to lots of different types of music but his favorite types are songs heavily driven by guitar. Some albums he likes are Handmade Citrus and Virus. Matt has watched movies like Hereditary and Midsummer many times as well as many other horror films. He doesn’t read much but when he does he enjoys the book, Catch 22.  Matt lives with his parents and his 15-year-old sister. Matt’s favorite restaurant would most likely be Yard House; he doesn’t really have a favorite meal though but he enjoys Chinese and Mexican food over others. 

Matt has been at Cape Henry for four years now where he does crew, Young Musicians club and also is a part of the jazz band. He really enjoys history, because politics are a big interest of his and because he enjoys learning about the past and its relevance to the modern world. Matt also enjoys STRI and chemistry. Matt’s favorite teachers at Cape Henry have been Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Gregory, and Mr. Palmer because they helped him grow as a student and because he enjoyed their classes. Matt’s favorite things about Cape Henry are the amount of freedom we are allowed to have, all the opportunities available to us, and the smaller classes.

When Matt isn’t in school, he enjoys going to the beach, surfing, playing the guitar, and hanging out with friends. After high school, Matt hopes to be able to take a gap year and travel, and he also hopes to attend a college for music. Matt would love to learn how to fly a fighter jet or a bomber, because he thinks it would be extremely fascinating to learn how to fly a very fast plane. He would also like to learn about the science behind flight and the research that goes into it. If money and time were not a factor, one of Matt’s biggest goals in life would be to go skydiving or go scuba diving with sharks – cage free. After college, Matt plans to live in Boston with a music-related job that can support him financially. If Matt was able to talk to any person dead or alive, he says he would most likely talk to George Washington, because he would enjoy having a conversation about his policies and actions that shaped our country and if he would have the same ideologies today. He would also enjoy talking to Bill Gates to be able to have a sense of what it would be like to have all that money. Matt says, “If I had two hours of free time, I would most likely practice guitar for the majority of it…” He would also just relax and enjoy some time off as he doesn’t get much. If Matt could be able to have any superpower, he would choose to be able to freeze time. That way, he could go anywhere he wants whenever he wants without worrying about consequences. He would use it to visit all the world’s most famous landmarks and the most dangerous places without getting hurt. According to Matt, if he was able to go on an unlimited shopping spree at any store he would go on one at Guitar Center, because the equipment to sound good is very expensive, so it would be nice to not worry about costs.

Due to his personality and looks, if Matt could pick any actor to portray him he would choose either Finn Wolfhard or Michael Cera. If Matt could pick any celebrity to be President, he would choose Will Smith.  This is because throughout all the years of his fame, he’s barely had any controversy or allegations connected to his name and he seems very unproblematic and would probably be a sensible, humble man who could lead the country well.

Matt has traveled to Mexico and Canada, as well as various places in Central America. His favorite trip was to Vietnam with Nexus, as the trip was like no other that he’s taken. The experiences were amazing in a country where he stayed in different villages and met a wide variety of people. One of his proudest achievements was earning the Laila Serpe Scholarship with Cape Henry. His hard work and dedication to the school had finally paid off. All in all, Matt is a very respected, humble and optimistic young man who can go far in life with his hard-working attitude and perseverance.