Matthew Harrison Is a Young Man With Many Talents

Name: Matthew Harrison

Age: 7

School: Foothill Progressive Montessori

Nominator: Yolanda Sitjar, piano teacher

Accomplishment: Matthew has academic skills, athletic skills and a winning personality.

Key to Awesomeness: Matthew is a natural–at many things. This Echo Park resident takes to music, math and English easily. While calculating how many questions he got right on a recent language arts test he was able to rack up the running total in his head easily. (This writer, on the other hand, had to take notes just to keep up.)  He’s about to enter second grade math – even though he’s only halfway through first grade. He’s already playing ditties on the piano even though he only started in January. He wins trophies and blue ribbons in karate and basketball.

He and his brothers enjoy going to the park and playing on the swings together. Matthew’s favorite animals are the bald eagle and the falcon, which he admires for their speed. He writes stories, including one about a baseball game. He loves Star Wars and Pokemon in movie, book and game form. And he is, as his father says, “a little gentleman” who interacts with adults politely, colors within the lines and even shares candy with his younger twin brothers, Matthew and Andrew. Parents Michael Harrison and Lisa Bakota have tried to expose him to different experiences. Matthew hasn’t “decided yet” what he wants to be when he grows up – perhaps a math teacher. But with his skills, he’ll doubtless go far. And will probably be enjoying a meal of chicken tenders and french fries, too.