Matt Hashimoto

Cell and Molecular Biology

Warren College

Senior Nickname: “Mommimoto”

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2019-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Matt’s path through college has been a bumpy one, to say the least. His competitive archery career began in his sophomore year of college when he joined the club and tried to compete with a club genesis bow. After attending 12 qualifiers, at the very last qualifier that would be held, Matt qualified for the team by the skin of his teeth, literally qualifying with the lowest possible score, exactly 200. However, the entire time he was qualifying, he was cracking jokes, laughing (partially at himself), and having fun the entire time.

His college career was also just as rough. Having switched his major (from completely separate departments), applying for the CS lottery, and graduating with 286 credits, Matt worked himself to the bone in order to graduate on time. Juggling working in a lab, getting his school work done, socializing with friends, practicing and competing as an archer, and learning to become a coach ate up almost all of Matt’s free time, but he did it all earnestly with his infectious smile.

The troubles didn’t only come externally, however. Matt also struggled with feeling ready enough to do many of the things we see him doing now. When he was approached to potentially become the next head coach of the archery team, he questioned whether he was prepared enough to give new, incoming archers the same welcoming and fulfilling experiences that hooked him when he first joined SGA. However, in his graduating year, he finally made the decision to become the head coach of the team. He states that although he still believes he has a long way to go as a coach, he hopes that he helped younger archers as much as he learned about being a coach.

Going into the future, Matt hopes to find a job in the biotech industry and hopes to stay in San Diego. He plans to continue to act as the head coach for the foreseeable future and hopes he is able to create a community as welcoming as the one that welcomed him when he first joined. We want to thank Matt for his continued dedication to bettering the club and hope that whatever the future has in store for him, he deals with it all with that infectious smile on his face.