Matt Gilbert, a transfer student from Taunton, Mass. is a senior at Eastern Nazarene College majoring in business management.
Since coming to ENC in the fall of 2012, Gilbert has been in musical events such as Nazzy Idol and multiple theater productions, including the upcoming play, “James and the Giant Peach.”
“I recently have discovered acting, and it’s a lot of fun,” Gilbert said. “The play ‘Hello, Dolly!’ especially . . . helped me grow in my own confidence as an actor and as a singer.” Gilbert has always been interested in acting and singing, and considers himself lucky to have the opportunity at ENC to pursue these activities.
“I’ve never done any acting [before coming to ENC]. I’ve always been interested in it, but never really had the opportunity to do so. I’ve always loved singing as well, but I’ve never been a super confident solo singer,” Gilbert said.
Since acting in these productions, he has been humbled by how great it is to be on stage.
“To get up and do something like that sounded like a blast and it absolutely was,” he said.
Although his interests in acting and singing have had a profound impact on him, Gilbert is also very focused on his business management major. He looks forward to a career in the business field.
“I graduate next December. The sky is the limit,” he said. “I’ve considered accounting and camp ministries. Camp ministries has been something I’ve been involved and interested in since I was really young, so [I’d] probably [be interested in] the business end of that.”
Gilbert especially cherishes the relationships that he has developed at ENC.
“I like the friendships that I’ve built here. The ease with which I’ve made so many connections and the friends, like the quality of the friends that I’ve made here, I think will stick with me for a long time,” he said.
You can see Gilbert in “James in the Giant Peach” Feb. 13-15.