Matthew Massucci ‘96 Reflects on Balancing Good Times and Working Hard

matt massucciWe’d like to thank Matthew Massucci ’96 for participating in this month’s alumni Q&A:

Where did you grow up and can you tell us a little bit about your childhood family, interests and activities?
I grew up in Barrington, and graduated from Lake Zurich High School.

Why did you choose the University of Illinois? What did you study?
I visited my older sister (Amanda) several times at Illinois several times and loved it. I never really considered any other schools. I was an Accounting major.

What was rush like at the time and why did you choose ATO?
I rushed in the fall of 1992 with my roommate (Al Strobl) and suite-mate (Dan Vanderweit). My roommate was a wrestler, and I definitely rode his coattails through the rush process. Ironically, Dan and I both went through pledgeship, but Al dropped out midway through (and later flunked out of school). I was one of the last pledges and I was definitely impressed with the pledge class that was in place.Continue reading

Matt Dixon ’11 – Giving the Gift of Education

Matt Dixon with his 8th Graders in DCHow did you get interested in Teach for America? Can you provide a little background on TFA?
Teach For America is a national corps of recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural schools in an effort to close the achievement gap and reach public educational equity. The program also works to develop corps members into life-long advocates of the educational equity movement who can affect change at various levels – from classrooms to courtrooms. This year, more than 9,300 corps members are teaching 600,000 students in 43 low-income communities across the country as nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni are working from inside and outside the field of education to create the changes needed to close the achievement gap.Continue reading

James R. Stansfield 1947 Diamond Circle Member ATO

stansfield 1Jim Stansfield grew up in Urbana. He won the state championship in wrestling at Urbana High School. His father was a geology professor at the University. He graduated from high school in ’37 and initiated at GZ in ’38. He majored in ceramic engineering but after his junior year entered the army and served in the European theater. As a resident of Urbana he never lived in the house but spent many many fun times there.

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