Matthew Gibbs (B Ec ’89, Grad Cert Public Affairs ’00)
It has been two decades since Matthew Gibbs slid along a wooden bench seat in the Merewether Building to attend his first lecture as an undergraduate at the University of Sydney and he declares that “I’ve never really left.”
“While the Merewether has had a makeover, I’ve remained an unreconstructed Sydney Uni fan”, he admits. “I don’t mean it’s taken me 20 years to complete a three-year degree. Rather, that the University has nourished me with experiences beyond the academic disciplines I enrolled in to study”, he adds.
"For me, going to the University of Sydney was a commitment for life."
Matthew has twice graduated from the faculty east of City Road, firstly with a Bachelor of Economics in 1989 and then with a Graduate Certificate in Public Affairs in 2000. In between those years and since he has enthusiastically pursued other University delights including a continuing education course on Latin in 1997 and election to the Council of the Friends of the Nicholson Museum in 2006.
“For me, going to the University of Sydney was a commitment for life; like being a rusted-on supporter of a certain football team. To this day, my Co-Op bookshop membership card, scuffed by age and activity, keeps a prominent place in my wallet.”
The variety Matthew enjoyed at University, from heavy tutorials in the Main Quad to light reading in Fisher Stack, interspersed with regular visits to the tennis court and non-stop cappuccinos, has continued into his career which combines full-time work as the Corporate Communications Manager with the Australian Stock Exchange with after-work passions as a freelance writer and evangelist for Shakespeare.
Matthew’s family is “well and wearyingly” aware of his attachment to the University.
“Whenever we drive past campus, one or both of my two young children invariably cries out: ‘That’s where daddy went to big school.’”
As a firm believer in life-long learning, in all its forms, it’s an exclamation Matthew is proud to hear.
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