Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series of high-achieving students who are engaged with the city and region in impactful ways, made possible through a content partnership with Campus Philly.

Name: Amanda Mathew
Hometown: Nanuet, NY
School and Year: Villanova, 2013
Major: Theology and Sociology
Extracurriculars: Minor Problem, Face to Face, Writing Center tutor, facilitator in Fourth Hour service learning community
Hobbies: music, biking (“If I had more time, I would have more hobbies.”)
 
Campus Philly: How would you describe yourself?
Amanda Mathew: Probably as someone who isn’t interesting enough to be Student of the Month [laughs]. I hope I am someone who always wants to learn. I try to be a leader. I take the things I am involved in very seriously.

CP: You are one of the founding members of the a cappella group Minor Problem. What motivated you to start the group and how did you go about forming it?
AM: This was not possible without Nina Trovato. It took the two of our heads together to put this group together. She came to me with the idea, knowing I knew about music. We made fliers and held auditions, and through trial and error we figured out how to run this group. It is a consistent battle to establish a campus club, but we just didn’t let it go. The most important thing is that we are all friends. Good performances come from good relationships.

CP: Can you talk a little about your role with Fourth Hour?
AM: I’m a facilitator for seminars on social justice for the sophomore service learning community. The students have to take classes that help you to understand and serve people. We read the same articles year after year, but I’m always learning something new; each student brings in a different perspective.

CP: So why theology?
AM: I went to a public school for high school, so academics and religion never touched. I came to Villanova and picked classes that looked interesting. Two years later, I looked back and realized I had taken a lot of theology classes. I always asked questions about religion that people couldn’t answer for me, so I realized I can be the one who answers them. I am really interested in how social roles and religious roles interact, especially because I am part of an Indian Christian community.

CP: What’s next for you?
AM: If I fast-forward 10 years, I hope to have received my masters and maybe my PhD, as well as have gone to India to fully understand the theology and teachings of my church. I would like to do research into the way Indian Christianity functions in America. I need to study a lot more before I am comfortable saying, “This is what I think.”

Want to be Campus Philly’s next Student of the Month?  E-mail [email protected] and tell us why we should pick you.