From underdog to up-and-coming

If there’s one thing Worcester-born Tom Matthews ’16 wants you to know about him, it’s that he is the city’s biggest fan.

“Worcester residents are very proud. They take things personally. They take care of each other. they’re resilient,” he says. Matthews worked as a journalist covering the city during the pandemic, and witnessed how Worcester came together amid a global crisis. “I did a lot of interviews with folks who were either on the front lines or giving back in some way,” he says.

Aside from a semester-long sojourn at Curry College in Milton, Matthews’ education has been rooted in Central Massachusetts. He graduated from St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, and after sustaining a football injury at Curry, Matthews moved back to Worcester and enrolled at Quinsigamond Community College. There, he took the course Creation of Nationalism with Clark Sociology Professor Parminder Bhachu, which inspired him to enroll at Clark and major in English.

Since graduating, Matthews has worked in a variety of roles in the Worcester community. He’s been a reporter at Worcester Magazine and MassLive, a public relations and social media coordinator for the Worcester Railers Hockey Club, and a marketing and content specialist for Niche Hospitality Group.

His introduction to the hockey club came when he and a Worcester Magazine colleague made a commercial for the team. “I didn’t know anything about hockey,” he says, “but I could help the team tell its story.”

Matthews is now the media and public relations administrator for Worcester, working closely with City Manager Eric Batista to communicate with the city’s residents. He fields media requests for most of the 16 city departments and spreads the word about initiatives that Worcester is engaged in, such as economic development or new housing initiatives like the down payment assistance and affordable housing preservation programs.

“Clark was a transformative and foundational part of my life. I got to spend time around people who really cared about the written word, cared about reading, and approached it in a very serious manner but also didn’t take themselves too seriously at the same time.”

This year, the city announced a Vision Zero safety plan from the Department of Transportation and Mobility to improve road safety and decrease the number of injuries and deaths in pedestrian crashes. Matthews shared program details with the press and fielded questions and interview requests.

“Pockets of people are very tapped into everything happening; they’re reading every news article. But many people are just going about their lives. They’re waking up, they’re going to work, they’re coming home, they’re taking care of kids,” he says. “Reaching everyone is a challenge.”

Matthews was inspired to pursue a professional role with the city while reporting for MassLive.

“I’ve always been proud to come from Worcester. The city didn’t always have the reputation that it does now,” Matthews says, remarking on Worcester’s more recent status as a hub for arts, entertainment, and dining. “Worcester historically was looked at as an underdog city, kind of gritty. Living here my whole life, it’s been interesting to see the transformation, partially sparked by a steady increase in population.”

At Clark, Matthews found a community of people from around the country and globe, and as he watched them experience Worcester for the first time his love for the city intensified.

“I think there’s something here for everyone,” he says. “There’s always been a strong music scene. I grew up going to house shows and venues that held concerts every weekend, especially a lot of punk and hardcore bands.”

Matthews is an advocate for the written word, for journalism, and for the sanctity of discourse, values that were strengthened by his Clark education.

“Clark was a transformative and foundational part of my life,” he says. “I got to spend time around people who really cared about the written word, cared about reading, and approached it in a very serious manner but also didn’t take themselves too seriously at the same time,” he says. “I think having a dedicated space for that is essential.

“As we shift into this digital age and our attention spans dwindle, people are getting soundbites of information that are missing context. And context is important to everything.”

Major in English