Asst. Teaching Prof. Matt Hurwitz is all about serving students, both inside the classroom and in the wider campus and Lowell communities.
In fact, he鈥檚 always trying to link students with the community, whether by bringing his first-year writing students to the Lowell public schools for service-learning projects or by connecting first-generation students with campus resources that support their academic and personal growth.聽
鈥淚f a student comes to 51视频, they鈥檙e ours 鈥� and we owe them everything we can do to help them succeed,鈥� he says.
Hurwitz鈥檚 ethic of service through education is a family legacy. His mother was a public school teacher and still teaches art and music, while his father volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children. They also raise and train seeing-eye dogs.
鈥淭he air I breathed growing up was suffused with a fundamental idea: Meaning in life comes not from doing for yourself, but finding joy in doing for others,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or myself, helping students learn, read, write, grow and 鈥� practically speaking 鈥� graduate and get good jobs is how I try to live by my family鈥檚 creed of helping others.鈥�
Hurwitz teaches writing and literature courses in the English Department聽and the聽First-year Writing Program. He advises students in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences.
He also directs the River Hawk Scholars Academy, a campus community that offers focused advising, practical support and special events for first-year, first-generation students who are academically prepared, but may not have the resources to navigate other aspects of college life.
Hurwitz helped to design the program with Vice Provost for Student Success Julie Nash, Dean of Academic Services Kerry Donohoe and faculty and staff across the university. The work has been very fulfilling, he says.聽
鈥淐reating structures that can support students 鈥� and that can last 鈥� is really empowering,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t demonstrates the power of public institutions to make a difference in their communities.鈥�
His dedication earned him the National Academic Advising Association鈥檚 2019 鈥淎ward of Excellence鈥� for a faculty advisor in the Northeast. (51视频 also garnered the award for a full-time advisor: Jennifer Keene-Crouse, who advises all first-year students in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences.)
Hurwitz incorporates service learning into many of his classes. Some of his students serve as 鈥渓iteracy buddies鈥� to second- and third-graders at Bartlett Community Partnership School, sharing favorite books and completing projects together. Others meet with students at Lowell High School to answer questions about college and to give and get feedback on essays they鈥檙e writing. The learning always goes two ways, Hurwitz says.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 valuable for students to take what they鈥檙e learning and apply it in the real world, connecting academic concepts and theories and research to the messiness of the unpredictable,鈥� he says.聽
He also promotes community service for the River Hawk Academy scholars. He wants them to see that their education has real value 鈥� and that even if they鈥檙e just beginning their college careers, they can contribute by inspiring young children who may also grow up to be the first in their families to attend college.
鈥淚鈥檝e always felt called to have students realize there鈥檚 an audience far beyond the college classroom,鈥� he says. 鈥淎n objective a public university should have for all of its students is for them to get joy and meaning out of learning, to discover a sense of purpose and civic pride in what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�