E8 Spotlight: Matthew Burk
The Empire 8 Conference is full of talented student-athletes and the E8 Spotlight is one way for fans to get to know them.
Matthew Burk (Ridgewood, NJ/Don Bosco) is a junior on the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s swimming team and majors in Business and Technology.
Why did you choose to attend Stevens? Ever since I went on my recruiting trip here in my senior year of high school I wanted to come to Stevens. For me it was a combination of the location and also the atmosphere on the swim team of student-athletes who do a great job of balancing academics and athletics, and I wanted to be a part of that right from the beginning.
What has been the greatest part of your experience as a college athlete? This might be a cliché answer but just simply being a part of a team at a high level like a college student-athlete is really an amazing experience. Having a group of people that push you to be better, whether in the classroom or in the pool, has been awesome and the team-oriented skills I’ve developed will extend long beyond the end of my swim career here at Stevens.
Who has been the most influential person during your athletic career? Why? Also probably another very cliché answer, but i’d say my parents. I've had numerous coaches throughout my swim career, but it was my parents who first got me into swim lessons when I was younger and that's where the magic all started.
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ideally in a job that lets me travel a lot, but hey you never know.
What do you like most about competing in the E8? Getting a chance to compete against conference rivals at our championship in February is always a cool experience. Swimming schools like Ithaca and Hartwick is always exciting since it always provides great competition and good races.
What do you do in your spare time? In the very few hours I have between practice and classes you can normally find me relaxing in my dorm, either listening to music or playing old Nintendo video games.
Top 3 things on your bucket list? Narrowing it to three is really hard. Traveling the world, finding a job I’m happy with and being able to make a positive difference in this world pretty much are my big three though.
What is something most people don’t know about you? My favorite spectator sport is soccer. I've never lived anyplace other than NJ but my favorite sports team is Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in London.
Invite four famous people, living or dead, to a dinner party: J.R.R. Tolkien, Nelson Mandela, Arnold Palmer and Barack Obama. I don't know how it’d work either but all four are just some of my biggest heroes.
Rapid Fire questions
Favorite food: A good bacon cheeseburger
Favorite band/musician: Blink-182 probably but I listen to so much music.
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite Movie: Interstellar
Favorite Book: The Hobbit
Favorite place to visit: Florence, Italy
Can’t live without: Music
Pet Peeve: When people are critical when they can easily be constructively critical or helpful.
Celebrity Dream Date: Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark in GoT)