Matthew Tapia, Reporter
Matthew Tapia is a freshman at UPA and a first year student in journalism. Tapia comes from a Chinese-Mexican background and, along with the goal of learning Cantonese to fluently communicate with his family, he strives to regain his Spanish speaking ability by the end of high school through the Spanish course taught at UPA. Tapia often spends his free time playing basketball or hockey — basketball being his favorite of the two. Tapia joined journalism because it looked like an opportunity to express and improve his writing skills. He is interested in writing sports articles for Aquila, but also wants to explore all the aspects of journalism before deciding what to write about. Tapia was once told by his mother to “make an impact, so you don’t look back and wish you did” and it guides his decisions in life. Tapia’s friends describe him as both “funny and blunt” because of his upfront, yet playful nature. Tapia prioritizes his family, grades and the sports he plays and wants to become a law major after graduating high-school. Along with the glorious high income salary that comes with being a lawyer, Tapia wants to use his ability to make convincing arguments to put criminals behind bars. He especially wants to couple his upcoming journalism experiences with his dreams of studying law to put an end to gun violence. He believes that he can support gun violence victims through both articles and court, and that by creating more media attention in such major topics, he can make a difference in the world.
