Board of Trustees Scholar Spotlight: Matt Crabb
Written on November 12th, 2008 at 10:05 am by Pete Bekisz.
About Matt
At first glance, Matt Crabb looks out of place on the Keuka College campus.
At 6-feet-7, 235 pounds, he looks more like a linebacker—which would be OK if Keuka had a football team—than the president of Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society.
But in reality, Keuka is the perfect place for the senior education major from Livonia whose transition from high school to college wasn’t difficult because “I grew up in a small town and went to a small high school.”
The small-town values he developed in Livonia have long been a part of the Keuka College fabric.
“We (students) all have a core group of friends,” he explained, “but everyone knows everyone and we all care about each other.”
He was also impressed with the education faculty and “had the opportunity to play basketball,” said the three-sport (football, basketball, track) standout at Livonia Central School.”
However, Crabb admits that he wouldn’t have come to Keuka without the aid of the Board of Trustees Scholarship.
“The ability to graduate on time without having a lot of debt was important to me,” he explained.
Crabb arrived in Keuka Park with a clear career goal in mind; his parents are teachers, so the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. However, Keuka’s Field Period, a required internship program, not only provided him hands-on teaching experience but “pinpointed what I wanted to do.
“I did a Field Period in a second grade classroom and while it was fun, I realized it wasn’t for me,” explained Crabb, who plans to teach fourth, fifth and sixth graders.
To further prepare for that challenge, he is working to set up “ Kid’s Night” programs in the nearby Penn Yan Central School District.
“It’s important to keep kids off the streets,” said Crabb, “but it’s also vital that students see school as a fun experience.”
