William and Mary Alumni Magazine | Winter 2007/2008, Vol. 73, No. 2
Photo by Steven Biver
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When you meet Suzann Matthews for the second time, you quickly realize there's something about her that's remarkable -- she remembers your name. Even over tea at a local Williamsburg establishment, she was quick to ask the hotel waitress how her mother was doing. Matthews uses this unique ability to bring people together, creating powerful connections that help change the world one person at a time.
Matthews grew up in West Virginia, like another Medallion recipient, Linda Burke '70, and came to the College as an out-of-state female, which was a bit of a novelty at that time. Although an English major, Matthews took a variety of liberal arts courses that interested her and decided to take an accounting course her senior year.
"One of the most helpful things that I learned in college came from that accounting course," says Matthews. "I learned to ask, 'What is really happening here?'" She continues to ask that question today when she faces new challenges and situations.
After graduation, she moved with a Pi Beta Phi sorority sister to Northern Virginia and worked on Capitol Hill for former Congressman Michael McCormack of Washington state. "He was a biochemist so it was a very exciting time to be working for him during the energy crisis and Watergate," she says.
Matthews graduated during a time when women were just breaking through the glass ceiling. "My daughter doesn't realize what it was like for women to get jobs at the upper level," says Matthews. "My generation recognizes it because they know how it was before." Her daughter, Lucy, is a freshman at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
During the 1980s, Matthews owned part of several companies dealing in commodities. After selling that business in 1993, she devoted herself to volunteer work and has spent a great deal of time working on behalf of the College, both as a member of the Board of Visitors (BOV) since 2002 and on numerous other committees over the years.
"Being appointed to the BOV is the highest honor and a tremendous amount of responsibility," says Matthews. "To support and promote the work of all these wonderful people is the best part."
Matthews has been an advocate for students, alumni and faculty along the way. Some of the recipients of the summer research grants she funded started One in Four, the rape awareness group. When One in Four traveled across the United States, the students sent Matthews postcards from all the states they visited. This kind of personal interaction is not unusual to Matthews. She has met dozens of students who keep in touch with her.
"Every time I work with people I look to find connections," she says. "I try to put people together who can benefit from one another."
That's why she feels strongly about the Phoenix Project. It gives students the opportunity to get practical experience in nonprofit work and it helps meet the needs of a local underserved community. "It's great to go international, but it is also important to realize we have needs here at home too." Her heart is truly in the Old Dominion. "I love Virginia," says Matthews. "It's small, manageable and maybe here we can make a difference."
Matthews advises recent College grads that they don't have to worry about planning out their whole life. "Just figure out what you want to do for the next two to three years," she says. She's sponsoring Young Guarde Weekend to help those alumni five years out and less.
When expressing her admiration for William and Mary, Matthews likes to quote one of the students she met along the way, who said: "When you love it, it loves you back." "That's the feeling you want to instill in people," says Matthews. She tries to encourage alums to stay involved in the College.
"Your best time at college can be ahead of you," Matthews says. "The life of the university shouldn't stop when you walk out the gate. When you graduate you can still work together to try to solve the problems of the day."
And Suzann does just that. At an event in her home last year, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine had this to say: "Suzann is a force for good in so many areas in Virginia, we all owe her a debt of gratitude."
Linda Beerbower Burke '70 | Randall S. Hawthorne '67, J.D. '70, M.L.T. '71
Suzann Wilson Matthews '71 | Patrisia Bayliss Owens '62
A complete listing of Matthews' professional, civic and College involvement
