Matthew Geib
For Hillsborough’s Matthew Geib, attending East Carolina University wasn’t on his radar. But after meeting some of the university’s top students, he will be coming to Greenville as part of the newest class of EC Scholars.
Once he arrives in August, Geib, 18, plans to major in biomedical engineering and take pre-medicine courses with a goal of going to medical school. He hopes to become a surgeon.
But that wasn’t always the plan, and COVID-19 played a role in his change of heart. Before choosing ECU, Geib received an appointment to the Air Force Academy.
“For a while my goal was to become a fighter pilot in the Air Force,” Geib said. “I applied and received a $10,000 flight scholarship my sophomore year and was able to log over 40 hours of flight time. If I could pinpoint a specific time where I changed my mind, it was when I was completing one of my solo cross-country flights, which is just a flight over 50 nautical miles, during the pandemic. I just found myself thinking of all the heroes in the medical field and the good I could do in that career path. I do still love flying, but I feel a much stronger pull towards medicine.”
It was other EC Scholars who convinced him ECU was the place where he could best pursue that goal.
“If I am being honest, I did not always think about attending ECU,” Geib said. “I had my sights set on the Air Force Academy. I was able to get appointed to the academy, but I spent time talking to EC Scholars alum and current scholars, and they were able to convince me that ECU was the place for me. Selection Sunday and all the presentations left me feeling very confident about the program and made me excited to become a Pirate.”
EC Scholars is the most prestigious undergraduate award program offered at ECU. The four-year merit scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance, commitment to community engagement and strong leadership skills. Recipients receive an Honors College scholarship and a stipend for study abroad for a total value of nearly $64,000.
Geib will graduate in June from Orange High School in Hillsborough. He’s the son of Ronald and Kristen Geib.
In high school, he’s been captain and student coach of his swim team. He’s also president and founder of the S.N.A.I.L. Club (Students Needing Advancement in Learning), a volunteer group that tutors students at the local elementary school. Geib was also president of Model UN and the president and founder of the aviation club, whose mission was to educate and involve students in opportunities in aviation.
He’s worked at his dad’s Play It Again Sports store during COVID-19 and has also given private swim lessons.
He’s looking forward to getting to Greenville and getting to work.
“Being an EC Scholar means I have an opportunity to learn in a collaborative environment in a strong group of diverse students, he said. “Furthermore, through the connections I will gain, I hope to better the community through service and research.”
This summer, Geib also hopes to take EMT courses at his local community college so he can volunteer in the fall. “I will also be doing about anything I can outdoors,” he said.
Once he arrives at ECU, he wants to join the pre-surgical society, the bass fishing club and pursue any research opportunities he can.
He wants to study abroad in Central or South America to gain medical experience. And he hopes ECU can stay on course with plans for in-person, on-campus learning this fall.
“Coronavirus has been very prevalent and has made it so part of my junior year and my entire senior year was online,” he said. “I hope that we are able to be in person for freshman year, but I understand any safety precautions that may be necessary. The most important thing is that we stop the spread of COVID-19.”
“Being an EC Scholar means I have an opportunity to learn in a collaborative environment in a strong group of diverse students.”
High school: Orange High School
Intended major: Biomedical engineering
Hometown: Hillsborough