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"
you are because i am. i am because you are.
we are one another's strength.
"
- T.B. JOSHUA
Some of you know me as a really good hockey player, a decent musician, a coach, or the guy who’s always juggling ten things at once — but not everyone knows the full story behind how I got here. My name is Julian D. Matthews and I’m a proud member of the Encinal High School Graduating Class of 2026!
I was born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia by one incredible woman who somehow managed to juggle being my mom, my life advisor, my business partner, and occasionally my human alarm clock when I "definitely didn't hear it" go off! My mom was still in college while raising me on her own and working up to three jobs at a time just to make ends meet. Life wasn’t always stable — there were moments when we didn’t know where we would live next — but she never let uncertainty define our future. After graduating, she built her career at West Virginia University, working there for several years before making one of the boldest decisions of our lives: accepting a position at the University of California, Berkeley. That meant packing up everything we knew and moving across the country in search of bigger opportunities and a better future. Watching her take that leap of faith — and succeed — showed me that hard work isn’t temporary, it’s a way of life.
Because of her, resilience is part of who I am. I learned early that excuses don’t build futures — effort does. That mindset carried me through high school, where I challenged myself with honors and college-prep coursework while dual-enrolling through the Alameda Science & Technology Institute, taking college classes in Political Science, Economics, Music Theory, and Biology. Balancing high school, college academics, sports, and work taught me independence, discipline, and how to stay focused even when life gets busy (which, for me, is always).
Outside the classroom, I’ve always loved building things — whether that’s a business, a team, or a community. I co-founded Bay Area Pet Love with my mom, where I help manage operations, scheduling, marketing, and client relationships. Entrepreneurship taught me responsibility, time management, and that running a business sometimes means answering messages about dogs at very random hours. I also coach youth hockey with the Oakland Bears, play on their Varsity team, and compete nationally with the San Jose Jr. Sharks 18AAA team, where I’ve learned leadership, teamwork, and how to function on very little sleep during travel weekends.
Music and creativity are another big part of my life. I’m a drummer and multi-instrumentalist who performs through the PopShop Music Program, and I’ve studied music theory at the college level. I also enjoy technology and coding, building my own website and mentoring younger students through The Hidden Genius Project, helping them discover their own potential the same way others once helped me.
More than anything, my story is about where determination can take you. Growing up in a single-parent household, facing instability, and watching my mom rise through every obstacle showed me what strength, sacrifice, and love really look like. She taught me that no job is beneath me, no dream is too big, and no setback is the end of the story. Everything I do — in school, sports, business, and life — is built on the example she set.
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I’m still writing my story, but one thing is certain: I carry her work ethic, her resilience, and her belief in pushing forward no matter what. And if I end up even half as strong as the woman who raised me, I’ll consider that a pretty great success.