Not quite a century ago, a New York Yankees first baseman named Wally Pipp took a day off, allowing a rookie named Lou Gehrig to take his place.
Gehrig clocked in for the next 15 years, assembled Hall of Fame credentials, and gave the most famous farewell speech in baseball history.
Matt DiIulio's St. Ambrose story isn't nearly that dramatic, but there's no arguing that when opportunity knocked for the owner of an SAU Bachelor of Science degree in Cybersecurity, Matt stepped up to the plate.
Or should we say he stepped up to the drum kit?
"I wasn't expecting what I experienced," Matt offered in summation of his Ambrosian experience. "I made the most of it."
Indeed, being ready for – and open to – change can be the hallmark of a full educational experience. Matt accepted a scholarship to join the drumline for the relatively new Marching Band when his tryout for symphonic band scholarship didn't go as well as he'd hoped.
A great St. Ambrose academic and extracurricular career began.
"At first, I wasn't great in the marching band, but it did make me a better and more well-rounded drummer," he said. "The first semester of my first year was really crucial and I improved a lot with help from (athletics band director) Megan Cooney."
He improved enough to merit a spot on the jazz band in spring semester. A backup spot. But as fate would have it, the "starting" drummer missed the bus for a trip to a competition in Jacksonville, Ill.
Matt learned all the necessary drum parts on the 3-hour drive from Davenport. And?
"We did pretty well," remembered Matt, who subsequently was awarded the symphonic band scholarship for which he had originally auditioned. Opportunities are rich within the St. Ambrose University Music Department. Matt is among many students who earned a Music scholarship, played in an SAU music ensemble, and yet majored in a different subject.
"Matt is an incredibly hard worker and sets a high performance standard for himself," said Nicholas Enz, PhD, assistant professor and director of SAU bands. "As a result he improved tremendously. He also has an unusual charming wit that is fun to be around."
Matt picked up his first set of drumsticks after seeing a drummer accompany his children's choir at Jordan Catholic Grade School in Rock Island, Ill. He later attended Rock Camp through the River Music Experience (RME) in Davenport, where the late Ellis Kell, a legendary Quad Cities guitarist and bluesman, indoctrinated Matt and other grade-school musicians in the blues and old-time rock and roll that stirs the soul.
Matt and an RME troupe wound up playing on Beale Street in Memphis in an international blues competition. When he subsequently formed a band with fellow RME and Rock Island Alleman High School musicians, their catalogue of songs ranged from the Rolling Stones to Jay-Z.
"Yeah," Matt conceded. "I'm an old soul."
He is an intrepid soul, as well.
Matt has spent much of his life not letting a vision impairment change how he lives and who he chooses to be. At St. Ambrose, he found fair accommodations that gave him an equal opportunity to succeed. When he didn't make use of Accessibility Resource Center services as often as he could have, counselor Carol McCoy would seek him out and make sure he was maximizing his learning opportunities.
"She held me accountable," Matt said. "Some semesters, I wouldn't want to go in there because I kind of want to hide the fact I have a vision impairment and I want to do everything on my own and adapt. She'd email me and call me. Then she would ask other students who know me how I was doing."
Making the most of the unexpected also extends to Matt's academic career. He always planned to major in Computer Science, but as the SAU CIS Department ventured deeper into the growing field of cybersecurity, Matt took advantage.
"Security is a giant thing right now and St. Ambrose is one of the very few schools that actually have a Cybersecurity four-year undergrad program," he said, adding that SAU's early selection as a Facebook Info Security program partner provided a tremendous learning opportunity to gain insight into cybersecurity industry standards.
Matt also remained a member of the symphonic band, marching band, pep bands and the drumline his entire academic career, and was able to travel to Ireland last spring with the symphonic band.
Drumline coordinator Kevin Carlson said that not only did Matt's skills as a drummer grow, his confidence and his capacity to lead grew too.
"I did grow a lot as a person," Matt conceded. "When I came I was really shy and wasn't very social. Being a part of marching band was really crucial for me in forming a good friend group and having really a well-rounded experience. The people I met in the first day of marching band are still some of my closest friends."
Share This Story
