College Life is Fantastic for
Matt Petryk
When you’re happy, odds are that you will be successful in whatever you choose to do. That’s certainly the case with Matt Petryk, a member of Huntington High School’s Class of 2012. The teenager’s freshman year is off to a wonderful start at Binghamton University.
One of the top members of his graduating class, Mr. Petryk earned his fair share of academic awards last spring. He’s not only a scholar, but a fine musician, too. The articulate young man has blended into Binghamton’s bucolic campus and adapted nicely to college life.
“Everything’s going well,” Mr. Petryk said last week. The Huntington alum is enrolled Calculus II and General Physical Calculus for his physics major as well as a set of other classes that appeal to his personal interests, including Arthurian Literature, which examines the development of the legend of King Arthur from 12th century England to today.
“College as a whole has been fantastic,” Mr. Petryk said. “The professors are great, very knowledgeable and willing to help you even when they don’t have office hours. There is a lot of work, but most of it is thought-provoking and well worth spending 12 hours a weekend on.”
During his free time, Mr. Petryk has kept busy, too. He’s joined the outdoors club, as well as SnoCats and the fencing club. “The outdoors club fundraises and plans for outings like caving, overnight backpacking and we even spent a weekend cleaning up the banks of the Susquehanna River,” the Huntington grad said.
The fencing club is both recreational and competitive in nature. The club has been known to hold practices that run from 10 p.m. to midnight. SnoCats is Binghamton’s recreational ski club, which plans trips to nearby Greek Peak, as well as more distant destinations such as Windham and Gore Mountain.
Mr. Petryk has quickly learned the ins-and-outs of the Binghamton campus. “Sometimes when the weather’s nice, I like to go hiking in the on-campus nature preserve and do my calculus homework by the pond,” Mr. Petryk said. “I do miss my friends and teachers from Huntington, though.”