Biography: Matthew was born in Chicago, US, and was at Woodstock in 1976, 1979-80 and 1983-84 while his

parents were doing field research in India. He received a BA from Swarthmore College and an MA from Cornell, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in Political Science. Before starting his graduate studies, Matthew worked at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, DC, where he conducted research and program management on arms control and disarmament policy in South and East Asia. Matthews doctoral thesis compares the regulation of capital markets in India and China. When not reading books, Matthew climbs mountains and enjoys nature.

areer and life choices can be deeply intertwined, and if my

educational experience at Woodstock in the 1970s and 1980s did anything, it was to ensure that for me those choices would be very close indeed. Studying in the Woodstock community and living in Landour amid the splendor of the Garhwal Himalaya shaped my future life-style and vocational choices in two ways. First, socially, the impact of my introduction into a cosmopolitan environment such as Woodstock was profound. In class and in boarding, I had the opportunity to interact with people from diverse national, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Once exposed to that kind of stimulating diversity and lively interpersonal interaction, it became very difficult for me to feel satisfied in any less complex or heterogeneous community. Woodstock was ahead of its time. Her students have, for several generations, been globalized.
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The consequence of this experience for me was that I felt it perfectly natural, almost obligatory, to spend most of my collegiate education in similarly international circumstances. And when I entered the workforce, I intentionally chose a policy job that would provide cross-cultural and cosmopolitan opportunities. I have now chosen to pursue academic training that offers similar opportunities to live outside the US, and to examine and contemplate the exchange of ideas across countries, cultures, and markets. This training, I hope, will facilitate future employment possibilities in which I will have the chance to live and work in circumstances similar to those that I first experienced as a youth at Woodstock. Second, spiritually, living in the Garhwal introduced me to the mystical inspiration of mountains, the intriguing character of mountain cultures, and the special power of the Himalaya in particular. It is clear to me today that my lifestyle priorities include proximity to mountains. Scrambling up and down the khud, investigating the wonders of temperate forests, and the physical exertion necessary to be mobile in the Garhwal were the first part of that introduction. The second part included the mysterious and

profound attraction of the snow-clad ranges to the North, with their undeniable sacred aura. My encounters with pilgrims and rishis in the hills beyond Tehri inspired me to also celebrate the sublime as manifest in high peaks. I have carried that insight, first revealed to me in my days in Landour and her environs, to other mountain ranges of the world. I have since returned to Woodstock on a number of occasions, and have observed the same two elements inspiring subsequent generations of Woodstock students. So I know Im not alone in the ways the Woodstock experience has shaped my career and life. I hope the school will continue to provide that invaluable heterogeneous and cosmopolitan environment. Im delighted to see that the school is now taking advantage of its precious location to promote awareness of the environment and of mountain culture and ecosystems in its curriculum. _

Woodstock was ahead of its time. Her students have, for several generations, been globalized.