Matthew Elwell is a third-year student in the Barney School of Business 3+1 program, double majoring in marketing and sports management. He has recently taken his talents to a summer internship for Special Olympics Connecticut (SOCT) thanks to a Barney connection.
When the summer was about to start and he hadn’t signed up for an internship, Matthew met with John Papa, director of the sports management program, to talk about where he might thrive. Papa called a friend, Special Olympics Connecticut CEO Mike Mason. From their first meeting, Matthew felt welcomed into an inspiring and well-respected organization, which was everything he had been looking for.
At SOCT, Matthew is part of a small team of less than 30 employees who get to have an impact on more than 10,000 people a year. Matthew’s role allows him to rotate through every department, including Finance, Special Events, Sports & Local Programs, Development, and Corporate Relations.
“The entire opportunity has been extremely positive,” Matthew says. “I get to make the athletes’ experience more enjoyable at our events and competitions. Some of these people have persevered through the toughest of obstacles. Athletes get to see first-hand that the work they put in pays off as their times and performances improve.”
Matthew says the experience has taught him how to optimize time, organize resources, and manage people independently – skills he can use in any work environment. He has been given free rein to succeed or make his own mistakes – as one of his supervisors called it,“throwing him on the pavement.” This left Matthew prepared for the future: “I won’t need any member of management to hold my hand through any project,” he says. “Instead, I can use my critical thinking and problem-solving abilities to make my way through a sticky situation and finish the task I am given.”
Matthew says what he’s learned at the Barney School has been key in helping him navigate the world outside the classroom. For example, he says the day after SOCT’s biggest event, the Summer Games, a group of colleagues invited him to a business lunch to celebrate. “How you present yourself and act in a business is vital to your success, and eating or going out with coworkers is a very important test,” he says. “Luckily, Barney knows this and holds several events that teach us how to make a good impression.”
Outside his coursework, Matthew has been a member or executive board member of many on-campus clubs. He says the Barney Leadership Council (BLC), which collects feedback from students and staff and reports to the dean, has taught him valuable lessons he’ll take with him into the business world. “Managing all these relationships helps to teach the delegation of tasks, and how to resolve conflicts and challenges,” he says.
Matthew also singles out the Red Key Society, where he is responsible for leading campus tours for prospective students. In the group, he says, he’s made friends to last a lifetime. “I never knew how close you could get to someone simply by sharing an organization. I owe the Red Key Society a lot for introducing me to some of the funniest, kindest, and most intelligent people I know.”
Matthew Elwell '25, M'26, Barney School of BusinessYou may have been told in middle school that your high school years were going to fly by. If you were anything like me, you would have shrugged your shoulders and said “Sure thing.” Then senior year came and you totally understood what they meant. Like high school, these years will fly past you like it never even happened. But when you come out of the other side with your degree in hand, you’ve unlocked potentials higher than you could have ever imagined.
Whatever the major or program, Matthew says all University of Hartford students can rest assured that they will be set up for success in their careers. “This was one of my biggest worries when choosing a college. No one wants to pay for a higher education to be left with a degree that does not land them a job.” He says UHart quickly eased this concern.
Another mentor that has had a key influence on Matthew’s success has been Alex Coury, Associate Vice President for Corporate Partnerships and Career Experiences. Matthew first met Alex in one of Barney’s Career Ready workshops, where she ran a practice scenario in which students pretended to be fundraisers for the college. During the event, Alex sorted the students by personality type and leadership style, helping Matthew learn about his own sales abilities. After that, Alex took Matthew under her wing. “Every chance she gets,” Matthew says, “I’m shouted out as ‘the best salesman’, who could ‘sell ice to an Eskimo.’ There is a certain confidence you gain when you know you have someone in your corner. I know that if I’m ever stuck and I look over my shoulder, Alex will be there for some needed encouragement and to point me in the right direction.”
At Barney, Matthew also discovered how much he loves research. In his Sports Economics & Finance class with Professor Ben Brewer, Matthew’s final project was to research and write a paper on a rule change in Major League Baseball, and how it affected the value of players. The research might have sounded dry to most – it involved conducting T-tests and comparing variances, among other technical details – but Matthew fell in love with the process. The assignment was to write a five-page essay, but his was closer to 10. He wants to conduct, and publish, another research study before he graduates.
Matthew is on track to finish his undergraduate studies by May 2025, and to spend the following year taking his graduate courses online to finish the 3+1 program with his MBA – hopefully while working at the same time. “Whether it is staying at SOCT or accepting an offer for another position in the sports industry, I know my outcome will be positive,” he says. “I am excited to graduate and I know that I will always have success and opportunity when I can call UHart my alma mater.”
Matthew says there is one key to making the most of the short time you have in college: “Get yourself involved and never stop advancing. You can go to class, go back to your dorm room, do some homework, eat, sleep, and repeat. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but if you find a way to get yourself involved, you should. Join the club you’ve been thinking about, and run for the position you think you would excel at. There will be no penalty for trying something, even if you aren’t the best at it, but you may experience regret later in life if you don’t capitalize on the opportunities that are laid at your feet here at UHart. Passenger once said, ‘Only know you love her when you let her go,’ and college is the same way. You won’t know what you missed until you don’t have it anymore, so get up and do it, whatever it is… do it.”