马修·洛佩兹93年

    马修·洛佩兹93年

    回到所有 聚光灯

    1993

    你在圣. 迈克的，你什么时候毕业的? 我于1993年毕业，获得了美国研究学位.

    你参加过什么俱乐部或活动吗. 这些对你很重要或者影响了你在那里的经历? 消防救援和环境科学俱乐部. The single most important activity that shaped, motivated, and directed me was Fire and Rescue. 它变成了一种激情，一种召唤，一种使命. 我觉得有必要尽可能多地参与其中. 这包括在校期间(课间), 晚上, 周末, 假期, 还有学校放假. I spent may holiday breaks and summers at campus working a job and running duty the rest of the time.

    你现在的职业是什么，为什么选择它? 目前[2022年4月], I am Fire Battalion Chief of 27 years with Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department. 我选择消防部门是因为SMC消防救援. 我选择费尔法克斯县有三个原因. 第一个, 因为我在学校里学过消防和救援, 我知道我想在毕业后从事这个行业. I decided that I would only apply to departments that delivered both fire suppression and Emergency Medical Services. 这意味着回到纽约是不可能的. 我寻找住在附近的家人或朋友所在的部门. 其次，在上世纪90年代初，招聘部门并不多. I applied for Portland, ME because family friends lived in Biddeford, ME and I liked the area. 我没有成功地通过他们的入学考试. Third, my parents had relocated to the Washington, DC area while I was attending St. 迈克的. 通过阅读消防行业期刊, 我得知费尔法克斯县, 弗吉尼亚是一个非常进步和发展的部门. 我申请了，两年后终于被录用了.

    What activities, hobbies, volunteer work or passion project means the most to you? 它是否给你一种目标感，或者帮助别人找到目标感? 目前我最活跃的爱好是吹风笛. 我在消防翡翠协会管乐队演奏, a competition non-service related Pipe Band and do solo competitive bagpipe playing. 我参加了多个志愿者组织, 包括我的消防工会和房主协会. I currently serve as President of three organizations: the Fairfax Hispanic Firefighters Association, the Northern Virginia Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe Band and the Firefighter’s Fund of Fairfax County, a non-profit organization that provides financial support to career and volunteer firefighters in need. Much of my volunteer activity surrounds supporting firefighters and the fire service to which I have dedicated my life. 为我的社区服务是一件我觉得必须要做的事情.

    你觉得你在圣. 迈克帮助你提高了有效沟通和解决问题的能力? How has a liberal arts education helped or hindered you on your career path or finding purpose in your life? Experiencing a liberal arts education was essential to my foundation as an adult. It provided me not only the insight and depth of understanding how to think critically, 还要如何用一种恭敬的方式表达自己, 有纪律的, 理性的态度. The education at St 迈克的 also taught me to be empathetic, compassionate, and measured. 这, 然而, was not so much learned in classes but in the Catholic education and religious undercurrents of the school. 我参加了多次由校园事工主办的校外宗教静修.  在这些静修中, I expanded my understanding and devotion to that Catholic Social Teaching of building a responsible and just society. 这个教导的积极部分是做你邻居的仆人. Both aspects have been essential in my chosen career path of service to the community as a firefighter and paramedic.

    Do you recall when you first realized what your purpose or passion in life might be? 答案是有点. 在新生迎新的第一天，我偶然发现了消防救援组织. 迎新手册里有一张消防救援传单. I had planned to begin freshman year studying environmental science and joining the soccer team, as I had been on varsity soccer in high school and was a strong supporter of environmental causes. I filled out the flyer expressing interest in Fire and Rescue and dropped it in the campus mail. That evening the Captain Michael Burti (’90) and Lieutenant Sherri Bissonette (’91) from the Fire Squad showed up at my dorm room in Joyce Hall and invited me to their orientation session. 坦率地说，我从未回头. 我从来没有参加过足球比赛，最后我把专业换成了美国研究. 后来我才知道这是多么的幸运，因为在接下来的日子里，我再也没有, 几个月甚至几年来，校园邮件工作得如此迅速有效.

    直到大三宣布了我的新专业, 因为我上了很多历史和社会学课, 我决定了毕业后的人生道路. 我不想读研究生, 学习法律或历史, 我不想在办公室里度过余生. I talked to multiple alumni who had graduated college and begun working a career in the fire service. 我的结论是，如果我能在消防部门工作, I could receive a good paycheck and benefits for doing something for which I had been volunteering. So, in junior year I began searching out employment opportunities because I learned it could take one or more years to get through a process and be offered a job opportunity.

    我是怎么做到的?. 迈克会培养或激发你的使命感? 这种感觉对你和你周围的人意味着什么? 到目前为止，它在你的生活和事业中有什么变化? St. 迈克的 nurtured and inspired my sense of purpose by supporting the Fire and Rescue Department but also really supporting the students. There was not a single time when I did not feel supported or encouraged while at school, 无论是在课堂上还是在校园里. 消防和救援部门的这种强大的社区意识令人难以置信, and its mission and purpose were always fully supported by the school and the Edmundite community. St的基础. 迈克的领导, understanding and education has been the foundation for everything that I have done since. Even as I prepare to retire within two years, I still feel the 开车 and need to serve my community. 正如我妻子一直提醒我的那样，我是一个工匠，一个给予者. 当我觉得有事情需要做的时候, I will evaluate the pros and cons but usually will jump in and try to be part of the solution. 如果我不这样做，谁会呢? 就像投票一样, 如果你想抱怨事物的方向, 你需要参与并成为解决方案的一部分.

    你最引以为豪的成就是什么? Being promoted within the fire department and serving as a mentor for others behind me. Mentorship is a word often used as a token, but to me it holds significant meaning. 指导和领导都是我在消防服务中学到的东西. 在我的志愿者角色和公共生活中，我一直使用这些技能

    拥有目标感对你来说意味着什么? 你学到的最重要的一课是什么? 拥有目标感对每个人和每件事都是至关重要的. 对我来说，当消防员是我的目标和使命. 服务和照顾他人, 给予自己, 32年来，我一直把别人放在第一位. The most important lessons I have learned are the value of humility and listening twice as much as you talk. 这 has also served me well with my wife, children, brothers, parents, and friends. 当冲突发生时, 我试着敞开心扉进行讨论, 同情他人的观点, 并支持别人的决定.

    What part of the ‘Forward with Purpose’ strategic plan stands out to you as the best new ideas for the St. 迈克的社区，继续前进? 这个计划中你觉得最鼓舞人心的是什么? The best new idea that I see from the new Strategic Plan is the 有目的的学习. Teaching and guiding the new students in a defined and organized mentoring path is the future model for private business and public sector service. We need to prepare the next generation for future opportunities that we have not seen and have not been created.

    我发现最鼓舞人心的是建立和追求前瞻性的愿望, 数据驱动的流线型路径, 关注未来的新生. 这 is the best avenue to stay ahead of the learning curve regarding attracting and retaining future talented students. 未来的学生一定要有这样的愿望, 开车, and motivation to learn and grown while developing an appreciation for diversity of thought while understanding that when ideas are challenged, 冲突不一定会随之而来.