Attending college in a foreign country often leads to a variety of experiences.

Matthew Paterson crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become a student-athlete at Indiana University East in the fall of 2018.

Matthew Paterson is the Naomi Osborne Scholar, an honor given to the graduate with the highest grade point average, for the Class of 2022. He will lead the Class of 2022 during IU East’s 51st Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 13, at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

“I always wanted to run track,” said Paterson, who is from Rothwell in the United Kingdom. “Quite a few of my friends back home in England had come to the United States in various places and they loved the experience.”

In addition to his track and field career, Paterson’s journey to the United States now includes IU East’s top academic honor as the Naomi Osborne Scholar with the highest grade point average in the Class of 2022.

“When I was told I was definitely caught off guard,” said Matthew, who is the son of Darren and Sue Paterson. “It was a great honor. It reflects the hard work that I’ve put into my classes over the last four years. I always want to do the best I can, so it’s kind of nice to get recognized for the dedication and the work I put in,” he continued. “My parents were very proud.”

Paterson will receive a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry as he leads the Class of 2022 at IU East’s 51st Commencement on Friday, May 13.

“As a biochemistry student, Matthew’s strong desire to learn helped him excel in his classes and prompted him to undertake undergraduate research at IU East,” said Jill Schweitzer, who is an assistant professor of biology and biochemistry at IU East that worked with Paterson on his project. “For his honors thesis project, Matthew investigated the function of an unknown gene in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.”

“Using both bioinformatics tools and laboratory research, Matthew identified a new trait for his gene of interest, YJL206C,” Schweitzer said. “This spring, Matthew’s presentation won first place in the Honors Showcase at IU East Student Research Day. He also presented the results of his research at NCUR 2022, a national undergraduate research conference.”

On the track, Paterson was a NAIA Outdoor National Championships qualifier as part of the 1,600-meter relay squad that posted a school record time of 3:14.83 at the event in 2019. The quintet of runners placed 11th. Earlier in his freshman year, Paterson was seventh in the 400-meter run at the River States Conference Outdoor Championships with a time of 52.63.

“All of the track competitions have been very fun,” Paterson said. “We got to travel to different states, which has been good.”

The biggest thrill was participating in the national meet in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

“The relay was definitely the highlight of competing,” Paterson said. “That was really good fun and enjoyable.”

Paterson has been a member of the River States All-Conference Scholar-Team several times during the indoor and outdoor seasons throughout his career.

In 2020, he earned all-conference honors by finishing third at the RSC Indoor Championships in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:27.92. He was also was sixth in the 200-meter dash with a 23.51 at the conference meet.

Paterson won the 600-meter run at the Indiana Wesleyan University Midwest Indoor Classic in 1:24.14. He also participated on two winning indoor 1,600-meter relay teams during the season.

Matthew Paterson competes in the 100 meters at the River States Conference on April 30. He finished fourth in the event.

This year, Paterson was the IU East representative on the RSC Champions of Character team during the indoor season. During the outdoor season, Paterson finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.45 in the rain at the RSC Championships. He won his heat in the preliminaries the day before with a time of 11.24 in much better weather conditions.

“Matthew is a perfect example of a student-athlete,” IU East coach JW Maierle said. “He has come here and done a fantastic job both on the track and in the classroom. We here at IU East Track and Field are very proud of his accomplishments.”

The COVID-19 pandemic also created some unusual situations for Paterson. The original plan was to travel home during breaks between semesters and in the summer. However, that changed in March of 2020.

“It’s been very odd,” Paterson said. “It’s been a weird experience to have a freshman year, most of my sophomore year and just this senior year.”

Adjusting to being back home was difficult as Paterson had to change his academic approach by attending virtually, particularly with a night class at IU East.

“One of my classes was in the evening (at IU East),” Paterson said of the five-hour time difference. “Back home, I was having lectures from midnight to 1 a.m.”

Ultimately, Paterson returned to IU East for his final year.

“It has went by quickly,” he said. “I don’t know where the time has gone. I will definitely be going home in the summer. It’s certainly been a great experience, but a little different than I thought it would be,” Paterson added. “It’s been nice meeting new people and living in a different culture. I’ve definitely made life-long friends.”

Paterson will be joined at the Commencement Ceremony by his parents.