My name is Matthew Snow and I am a third-year political science major at Arizona State University. Thirty years old creeps up on me later this year and I’m not ready for it. I’m a non-traditional student who began my journey to a bachelor’s degree at age twenty-six. I juggle full-time work as well as full time study, alongside existing as a human outside of those two realms. Currently, I work as a project manager for my family’s home maintenance company, but I also played bass guitar in a nationally touring post-hardcore band until 2018.
Arizona State’s online program has allowed me to continue living in South Carolina, where I work full-time, and still allow me to pursue my degree in political science from a respected university. With everything going on with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am even more thankful for the robust online offerings at ASU because it means that my studies remained unaltered.
Based off of my declared major, can you guess what I’m interested in? Well, you’re not wrong. However, I plan to use the broad basis of my political science degree with a certificate in international studies to lay the groundwork to become as a diplomat with the U.S. State Department. I aspire to become a Foreign Service Officer and serve the U.S. abroad.
Since I am employed full-time while also studying full-time, I don’t have much time left for extracurriculars. I do enjoy the occasional lazy days with my fiancé and our three dogs. Riding my bike gives me solace from my chaotic schedule and playing my guitars allow me to jumpstart my creativity, which can be helpful when Finals season approaches!
Most of my Spring 2020 semester was spent in Frankfurt, Germany as an intern with the Executive office at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt. While in Frankfurt, I was able to be at the heart of U.S. diplomacy in the region and got to try on being an American diplomat. However, living overseas for an extended period of time is costly. That is why I am extremely grateful for the Honor Society and this Study Abroad Scholarship. This scholarship is going to allow me to pay off some of my incurred debt and allow me to enjoy more of my summer. Without this scholarship, my summer would have been engulfed in extra work, leading to little rest between the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters. The time between the semesters is critical for many students to rest before charging headlong back into the academic battlegrounds of university.
