Two Coat of Arms staff members sat down with history teacher Matthew Nelson. Photo courtesy Matthew Nelson.

Sophie White | Staff Reporter & Zoey Lieberman | A&L Editor

CoA: Pick two celebrities to be your parents.
MN: Angelina Jolie and Barack Obama. Angelina Jolie has very full lips and she’s a wonderful actress and Barack Obama because he is a courageous individual, and I would like to be inspired by someone who’s a trailblazer. I feel like he’s an all around great guy.

CoA: What’s your favorite thing about Menlo?
MN: The students. I love Menlo students. Where there is joy, where there is true inspiration, is when I’m in the classroom with students. I just see epiphanies, students growing in their knowledge of things, and just growing into human beings.

CoA: What was the best day of your life?
MN: Everyday.

CoA: Have you ever had an ‘aha’ moment and what was it?
MN: I’ve had a lot of ‘aha’ moments. The first being “aha, I’m gay!” and “aha, I don’t belong in this religion anymore!” I had an ‘aha’ moment two years ago when I thought I would like to leave Woodside Priory and come to Menlo. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to advance my career, to stretch myself professionally, and that was a big moment for me because I really enjoyed my job at Woodside Priory, but thought that being at Menlo would help me augment myself personally and professionally.

CoA: What’s your favorite holiday?
MN: Christmas. It’s still magical.

CoA: Who’s your Menlo teacher BFF?
MN: I would say Ms. Ramsey. Ms. Ramsey and I hang out more frequently than any other teacher duo.

CoA: If you could be anyone else for a day, who would you be?
MN: If I could just be anybody, I think I would like to be someone on the other side of the world. I recently went to India, and I would love to be a native Indian to see the world the way a native Indian sees the world. To see and understand that perspective, to see the world from a different point of view, because here in Atherton, we see the world from a top down perspective. I would love to see the world from a bottom up perspective, but to really get that first hand view.

CoA: How would you describe your sense of style?
MN: I am very classic preppy. Classic dress is dress that never goes out of style. I’m from the East Coast so I feel like everyone on the West Coast is underdressed, so I always want to dress up a little bit more than everyone else. I have this philosophy, “buy once, buy right; buy right, buy once.” Something may cost a lot, but you’ll have it forever, if you work out.