Welcome! My name is Matt Hales and I am a graduate of Cornell University's College of Engineering with both my Bachelor of Science and Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Here I showcase all my academic endeavours as well as my extracurricular interests and personal interests.
Apart from my day job as a hardware design engineer, I'm all about making the most of my time off. Hitting the beach for some much-needed sun after spending 5 years in Ithaca, where I practically turned into Casper the Friendly Ghost, is my idea of a perfect day.
Keeping up with the latest tech is another passion of mine. There's something about building PCs with the newest components and seeing how much better they perform than the last generation that really excites me. It's my way of staying in touch with the tech world and indulging my inner geek.
Then there's hanging out with friends, which is a huge part of my life. Even though we've gone our separate ways career-wise, we still find awesome ways to have fun. Whether it's relaxing at the beach, experiencing the magic of Disneyland, competing on board game nights, or having movie marathons, we're there. I'm also big on TV shows like "For All Mankind," "Shrinking," and "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," with "Ted Lasso" being a series I can watch over and over again.
Between keeping up with tech advancements and creating memories with friends, that's what I'm all about. It's this mix of innovation and spending quality time that makes life exciting for me.
I also dedicate time to Goggles for Guppies, a non-profit organization I co-founded with my twin brother in 2011. Our mission is to provide underprivileged families with essential swimming equipment to help reduce the risk of childhood drowning. You can learn more about our work on our website.
From age 9 to 19, I swam for the Mission Viejo Nadadores, in Mission Viejo, California, beginning my swimming career with them in the 9/10 year old divison. At the age of 12, I represented Southern California Swimming in the 2011 North American Challenge Cup, an international competition between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eventually, I climbed the ranks and joined the Nadadores' National Group, under Head Coach Bill Rose, at the age of 14, where I continued to train for 5 more years. During my high school career. I swam for my the Varsity Team and, as Captain, led the team to its first League Championship in 19 years. During my senior year of high school, I committed to Cornell University to swim for their Varsity Team and that was one of the best decisions I had ever made, as the friends I had the privilege of swimming with are some of the hardest working, caring, and supportive teammates I have ever had. Being apart of the team at Cornell was such an amazing experience and I would never trade my swimming career and the people I've met over the years for anything. To those of you who have supported me and pushed me harder and harder every day in practice, thank you. It's because of these people that I learned the true meaning of teamwork and discipline and I am forever grateful for it.
