Matthea Matlock

Matthea Matlock, a disabled aspiring psychiatrist, attends Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s Honors College and plans to double major in Psychology and Clinical Neuroscience. Throughout her late teens, she struggled with multiple physical disabilities. She has various severe leaky heart valves, a heart disease, and POTS, affecting the autonomic nervous system. This condition can cause her blood pressure to drop and her heart rate to increase, which causes her to faint unexpectedly. Her conditions cause her body to work twice as hard as the average person. Day-to-day tasks are always more difficult for her, but that never stops her.

Despite her health problems, she graduated high school with a weighted GPA of 4.5, completed 100+ hours of community service, and attended Cosby High School’s Health Science Governor’s Academy. She was in Beta Club, National Honors Society, and Spanish Honors Society.
In her free time, she runs her own art business. She paints to release the emotions of dealing with such harsh disabilities. Matthea is excited about her bright future, and every day, she accomplishes something new, even though she has so many obstacles to overcome.