Matthew Church
Advising Unit/Department: College of Arts & Sciences
1. What is your favorite thing about advising U of L students?
The students. I am fortunate to be able to advise some excellent students who are not only good students, but great people. Being able to form those relationships and help them through college is my favorite thing about advising. I enjoy being able to help students identify and reach their goals, but I particularly enjoy helping students to expand their horizons and to take courses that they never thought of taking. The goal of college is to get a well rounded education and I take pride in helping students identify ways and courses to accomplish that goal.
2. What is your favorite thing about working or living in the city of Louisville?
Honestly, I enjoy everything. Particularly, I enjoy the Highlands, U of L sports, and the parks. Seneca and Cherokee parks are great places.
3. How many years have you been advising students? 4 years
4. What is your alma mater? I got my Bachelors degree from Bellarmine in history and have a Masters in history from U of L . I am currently working on my PhD in Educational Leadership at U of L.
5. Name one interesting activity/hobby that you do outside of your profession (i.e. recreational sports, collecting, gardening, cooking). I am the quick recall coach at Ascension. It is a lot of fun and very cool to coach the team I played for years back. Also, it is probably one of the most difficult things to coach since you cannot call time outs and change plays or anything, you just have to hope they know it. I love working with the team.
6. What has been your favorite place to travel to? London. I honestly do not think I would ever tire of the city. There is always something to do or see.
7. If you could visit one place that you have never been to, where would you like to go? I would like to visit Scotland. I have always been curious to see Scotland and to visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. Specifically, I want to just travel the country and experience Scotland. Everyone I know who has been has really enjoyed it. Additionally, I would like the opportunity to go to a Rangers-Celtic match.
8. What was the last book you read? The last book I read was a War like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson about the Peloponnesian War. I am currently reading Fallen Founder: A life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg.
9. If you could interview one living person in the world, who would you pick and why? If I could interview one living person, I would want to interview Bill Clinton. I am just fascinated by him. He is one of my favorite presidents and is a brilliant man. I would just like to be able to ask him about his presidency, his path to the presidency, and just about numerous other things in the world. Also, I am guessing he is a pretty cool guy. A close second would be David Beckham.
10. What is your favorite quote or “saying”? I actually don’t have a favorite quote.
11. If you had a personal chef for the day, what is the one meal you would request? Wow! This is quite frankly the toughest question on here. Hmm. I would probably request chicken tikka masala, vegetable pakoras, and naan, as well as hush puppies. The latter does not fit in with the meal, but how often would I have a personal chef who could make me hush puppies.
12. What is the one piece of advice that you wish you could tell all U of L students? Enjoy your time here and don’t be afraid to try new courses and subjects. College is a great time and one where there are countless opportunities for students to meet new people and study new subjects. Many students come to school wanting to get it over with and move on to their professional lives. I would advise everyone to enjoy their time in college.
13. What is one thing that you are proud of about your advising experiences at U of L? I enjoy being able to help students identify their possible courses and to graduate. It is a great moment of pride when a student comes back and says I am glad you recommended that course or I appreciate your help. I am here to help students and I am most proud of every student I helped.
14. What was your favorite band / singer or movie in high school? My favorite movie was Star Wars. It is still is my favorite!
15. Why did you choose to work for U of L? I chose to work for U of L because I love the university and had a great opportunity to become an academic advisor. Where I went to undergrad, we did not have professional advisors and I was one of those students who always looked forward to when course schedules came out. The opportunity to be able work in a field I was interested in and thoroughly enjoyed , at a university I loved, was too much to pass up.
16. What question would you like to ask the next Advisor in the Spotlight? Of all the courses you see on a day to day basis, which one course would you most like to take or audit?
