Monica Deeb

Catching up with Salisbury graduate Matthew Fainor

What is your full name?
Matthew Fainor

When did you graduate from Salisbury?
2016

Tell us about your life since high school.
After graduating from Salisbury, I moved very far from home to attend Lehigh University. During my time there, I studied bioengineering and art & design. That intersectional journey has taken many twists and turns! From taking a semester to study fashion in London with professional craftspeople to working in a cutting edge biomaterials research lab with dedicated scientists, I had amazing opportunities to build meaningful learning experiences and to develop my evolving biodesign practice. Three months ago, I started a new job in a tissue engineering lab at the University of Pennsylvania. My work there focuses on developing regenerative living materials for people who have degenerative spinal discs and severe lower back pain.

What are you most proud of personally and/or professionally?
Last year I helped judge the regional PJAS competition. That was a really impactful moment. Eight years ago, I was a ninth grader, nervously presenting a science project. To be on the other side, helping critique and guide middle school and high school students to think more deeply about science showed me how much I’ve grown as a person. Professionally, I’m proud of all the relationships I have built with people I admire, mostly the designers and scientists I’ve emailed on whims. My advice to anyone: If you admire the work someone does and want to learn from them, just send them an email! Or @ them on twitter. And if they don’t respond, politely follow up. Whatever works to break the ice.

How has the pandemic impacted you and what have you learned from it?
I think every senior, whether high school or college, who graduated in 2020 can relate to the experience of missing senior memories, time spent with friends, milestones, struggling to transition from one stage of life to the next. Personally, I was tremendously stressed about finding a job after graduation. In many ways the pandemic magnified that stress. However, in hindsight, it also gave me time that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I used that time to reassess how I wanted to fit into the world. After four years of carving out a pretty unique path in college, it was hard to translate that into what comes next. One of the lessons I’m still learning is that everything can’t happen all at once. Growth is a slow journey that takes time, and that’s okay.

What was your favorite high school memory?
I distinctly remember decorating the gym for homecoming pep rallies. I remember that being particularly stressful for a group of 15 year olds but a fun activity with some of my closest friends. My favorite year was probably the year we did a carnival theme, complete with a ten foot tall ferris wheel decoration.

How is your family doing?
They are all doing well! Meghan is a junior at Penn State, working her way through the challenges of pandemic-era college, Joseph is working in real estate investment/valuation in Philadelphia, and Ryan is at Carnegie Mellon finishing a masters in biomedical engineering.

If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
Top on my list right now is Dr. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. Dr. Ginsberg is an amazing speculative artist, working at the intersections of artificial intelligence, biology, and conservation. Her work explores possible futures where we attempt to reconstruct extinct species from their DNA, where humans colonize mars for the sake of other species’ evolution and not our own, where bird calls created by artificial intelligence replace dwindling urban bird populations. I just think she’s wildly cool.

Who is your role model and why?
That’s a hard question! So many people have helped shape who I am today. However, I think I’d like to turn this question on its head for everyone. Right now, my biggest role models are the cellular organisms who live in, on, and amongst me. We live very human-centric lives, but our lives are exclusively powered by the mammalian and microbial cells that make up our bodies. I’m taking some time to learn more from the cells in my own body and the lessons that the non-human world has to teach us. If anyone’s interested in learning more with me, I’m writing and illustrating a series on biotechnology’s intersections with our social lives. Feel free to read more on my website: matthewfainor.com

#yoursalisbury

Monica Deeb

1/23/21 Salisbury Athletic Schedule
B/G Swimming @ Saucon Valley - 1:30 p.m.
No spectators are permitted.
The YouTube streaming link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbBaongzWJZ2s30iSeNuSpA
#yoursalisbury

Monica Deeb

1/22 Salisbury wrestling update
Tonight's JH/Varsity wrestling matches at Catasauqua have been postponed. No new date at this time. Thank you.
#yoursalisbury

Monica Deeb

Salisbury wrestling heads to Catasauqua on Friday, 1/22.
Junior High will take place at 5:30 p.m. Varsity at 6 p.m.
No spectators are permitted.
The YouTube link is below to livestream the action.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhKCIQ_3_LahKm24HSMqZQ
#yoursalisbury

Monica Deeb

Salisbury's home 1/22 MS/JV/Varsity girls basketball games vs. No. Lehigh (3:45/6:00/7:15 p.m.) will be livestreamed on the Salisbury YouTube channel.
No spectators are permitted.
The link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNGs4zLsF4IU1-n7JpvxiBw
#yoursalisbury