When I came to Biola freshman year, Matthew Porter and Catherine Dinius were some of the first people I met and friends I made. As I became closer to them, I recognized that they share two common traits — they love to laugh and they care for others deeply. With almost three years of friendship in the bag, I have had the pleasure of experiencing firsthand their dedicated work ethic, genuine care for their neighbors and seemingly endless supply of hilarity, earning them the title #mattcat.
My father has always said that, “People don’t want to hear you talk about something, they want to see you do it.” Matt and Cat exemplify people who walk what they talk. One fruit of their hard work and care has been their combined five years of investment in Associated Students. Neither of them are afraid of commitment and I firmly believe they realize the best things in life require the essence of dedication and the struggle that comes along with it. They both currently hold positions that require time, organization and extreme involvement, and they both bear that burden with laughter and grace.
Beyond their natural inclination towards leadership, Matt and Cat carry vision. Not the sort of vision that seems hazy and indistinct, but a clear, precise and crisp perspective on what the future can hold for the new organization, Student Government Association. AS has done a fine job in the past year and a half by increasing the weight of student opinion in administration through the President’s Administrative Council Partnership. Matt and Cat want to make sure that this progress does not become stagnant, but remains dynamic. Instead of taking SGA further up the administrative ladder, they plan to bring administration and the student voice closer than ever before by having fireside chats, an online bulletin board for direct communication and an all new House of Representatives. They have created three unique and unprecedented ways to make SGA increasingly accessible to the student body, something I find utterly key seeing as the name of the organization itself indicates that it is for students. Being an AS Senator myself, I have recognized that it is not always easy to reach every facet of Biola, but with the House of Representatives, every student from athletics to art will have a distinct voice, and I can confidently trust that Matt and Cat will be there to listen. I believe that the Porter – Dinius campaign team will carry the freshness they bring to people’s lives every day straight into SGA and that they will craft a bright future for the years to come. Who better to take AS forward as it transitions into SGA than the people who have been so intimately integrated in its past? This is why I will be voting #mattcat.
