“Helping students identify their strengths and weaknesses and witnessing their personal success stories along the way is what inspires me.”
Meet Mr. Matthew Silva, a vice principal at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. Mr. Silva attended Somerset High School and graduated as the class of 1997 which he views as some of the best days of his life. In college, he earned a bachelor’s degree in History at UMass Dartmouth along with a graduate degree in School Leadership from American International College. Before becoming an assistant principal, Mr. Silva was a residential counselor at multiple different group homes for underprivileged kids and was also a varsity football coach for 16 years. Ultimately, he believes that both experiences have broadened his outlooks in many ways. As a vice principal, it is Mr. Silva’s job to implement and enforce compliances of the student handbook, build relationships with staff and students, be a role model, and emphasize keeping open lines of communication with the entire school community.
Mr. Silva chose Voc-Tech since he grew up on the South Coast and was always in awe of the campus. Although he worked at two other schools as a vice principal, his experience at GNBVT has been his favorite hands down. He loves this position because it allows for more time to be active around the student body and gives him time to be present in not only the hallways, but also classrooms, shops, and athletics around the school. Overall, becoming a vice principal has been humbling for Mr. Silva since he has had to work with so many students from different backgrounds. He has a better understanding that not everyone will agree with his decisions, but he prides himself on being fair and consistent across the board. Generally, the job has taught him patience, perseverance, empathy, and integrity all together.
Outside of school, Mr. Silva’s two daughters are both his motivation and something he can’t live without. He sees them as his everything and they ultimately motivate him everyday to be a better dad, principal, mentor, and role model. His favorite activities to do in his free time are drawing, painting, going to the gym, golfing, coaching, and traveling when time allows it. He would love to travel to Portugal and the Azorean islands someday since his ancestors came from the island of Sao Miguel. In all, a goal of his would be to get back on the football field as a coach since football has played a big role in his life.
Article and Picture by: Morgan Goncalo, Senior Media Technology