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July 5, 2024
Matthew Wholey was nearing his graduation at Northwest Missouri State University in 2019 with not one but two bachelor’s degrees and had a revelation. He was enjoying his coursework and experience so much that he wanted to pursue a third bachelor’s degree.
A native of Parkville, Missouri, Wholey completed degrees in computer science and mathematics with a data science emphasis in 2019. After working in cybersecurity at Expedia for about three years – just enough so he could budget another two years of coursework at Northwest – he returned to the University and graduated in April with a bachelor’s degree in physics.
“If money wasn’t an object, I’d probably stay in school forever,” he said.
Like a lot of Northwest students, Wholey’s experience began with touring other colleges and universities in Missouri. Ultimately, he was attracted to Northwest by the personal attention he received and its friendly campus environment.
“The computer science department gave a really good tour,” Wholey said. “It was the only place I went where a professor sat down with me individually and asked me questions and had a one-on-one conversation. The campus is great, and it was also the best financial decision for me.”
Wholey formed friendships outside of his classes as a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and dedicated himself to his learning. Still, by majoring in computer science and mathematics, he wondered if he was missing out on learning about something else he really enjoyed – physics.
“The initial plan had always been to do the degree and then basically get a job,” said Wholey, who completed Physics I and II as summer courses during his first turn at Northwest. “I hadn’t really thought much more about it, but as I went through college and experienced more things … I kind of felt like I had just gotten to see how cool physics would be if I had been able to really go for it.”
As he neared the completion of his degrees in computer science and mathematics, Wholey could have graduated in three and half years. Instead, he opted to stay at Northwest for another semester to try a physics course with Dr. Himadri Chakraborty.
“I just really devoured the class,” Wholey said. “I took that class and I was like, ‘Wow, this is different than the things I’d seen before.”
Matthew Wholey earned bachelor's degrees at Northwest in computer science and mathematics with a data science emphasis before returning three years later to complete a third degree in physics. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)
Wholey enjoyed the course so much that he began thinking then about returning to Northwest to pursue a physics degree. As he started his career in the computer science field, Wholey maintained contact with Chakraborty and the two discussed potential research projects during a series of Zoom meetings. Then, Wholey returned to Northwest in the fall of 2022 to fulfill that academic goal.
“I feel like I timed it pretty well because I don’t look much older, so people just assumed I’m a senior, which I’ll accept,” said Wholey, who is now 27. “I was really worried about that.”
As a physics major, Wholey maintained the same commitment to his coursework – in addition to trying research and some student organizations in which he didn’t participate during his previous undergraduate experience.
“It had been three years, so everyone I would’ve known is gone; I knew I had to restart,” he said. “I went to the Org Fair and I joined a couple clubs. I did the Art Club, the Horticulture Club and the Math Club. That’s a lot more involvement than I had done last time.”
In fact, Wholey was elected president of the Math Club and helped organize Pi Day activities in March. Being a part of the Art Club presented opportunities to work on some creative projects, and the Horticulture Club took Wholey to tour Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, and Powell Gardens in Kansas City, Missouri.
Matthew Wholey presented this summer at an American Physical Society conference with Northwest classmate Joan Jimenez (center) and faculty member Dr. Ruma De. (Submitted photo)
As a researcher, Wholey presented this summer and last at American Physical Society conferences. In collaboration with Northwest faculty Chakraborty and Dr. Ruma De, Wholey employed his computer science skills to write and edit code for Northwest’s Bartik Cluster, a high-performance computing system used to analyze large datasets. He also is working with them as the co-author of a research manuscript.
And Wholey isn’t finished with his academic pursuits. In the fall he will begin work as a teaching and research assistant at Rice University in Houston while pursuing a Ph.D.
“My experience with Dr. Chakraborty and Dr. De has been – they’re very generous with their time,” Wholey said. “Putting my name on papers and things is something that they don’t have to do. So the fact that there will be those things going forward is going to massively help me getting through a Ph.D. Coming in with a couple papers makes a big difference.”
Wholey believes the research and profession-based learning experiences at Northwest played a key part in his acceptance to Rice University and will continue to support his success.
“There was a lot of internships, job fairs, the mock interviews – I did all of those things,” Wholey said. “So by the time I had to go do a real interview for a job, I’d done like eight interviews and I just sailed through.”
After completing his doctoral degree, Wholey hopes to join the faculty of a college or university, or he may return to the computer science field.
“Had I gone to any other university, there’s no way I would be coming out with anywhere near the on-paper credentials I have been able to achieve through Northwest,” he said.
