Name: Matthew Martin
School: Kihei Charter Middle School
Subject: Social Studies and Music
Grade: 6th – 8th Grade
Island: Maui
“While every student is issued an internal light bulb the moment they begin their academic careers, students aren’t given the specific coordinates to their light switches. It is the educator’s job to assist in the guidance of students to their light switch.”
As an educator in a S.T.E.M school, Matthew seeks to inject a certain amount of creativity and wonder into his students’ days. He challenges them to be curious about and engage with the world around them from a place of empathy. One of his goals is to build a stronger bridge between students and their surrounding communities through service and artistic projects. In one such collaboration, students interviewed residents of Kalama Heights retirement community and wrote songs for them based on the interviews. Matthew is also a poet whose work has appeared in many literary journals. Growing up, he spent his weekends cultivating Dracena on his family’s farm and nursery on the Big Island. The fellowship combines his three favorite things in life: education, poetry, and nature. He has a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and Poetry from San Francisco State University.