Matthew Condon, recently named a 2014 Knight of St. Patrick, will finish grinding excess metal off his bronze sword in the next couple of days. When he finishes polishing it, the sword will be mounted on a plaque—part of the initiation process to become a Knight. Only nine other students in the College of Engineering will have the honor of doing the same.
Written by Lyanne Alfaro
Matthew Condon, recently named a 2014 Knight of St. Patrick, will finish grinding excess metal off his bronze sword in the next couple of days. When he finishes polishing it, the sword will be mounted on a plaque—part of the initiation process to become a Knight. Only nine other students in the College of Engineering will have the honor of doing the same.
On March 15, Condon will be one of 10 Knights of St. Patrick to be honored at the St. Patrick Ball, happening after EOH.
Since 1950, the Knight of St. Patrick award has been an annual and prestigious tradition at the University of Illinois. Every year, up to 15 College of Engineering students receive the honor for demonstrating leadership, excellence in character, and making significant contributions to the college and their peers.
"I finally understood the gravity of how big of an honor this is," Condon, a senior in MechSE, said in response to receiving the award. "I was really excited; it was really humbling, too."
To improve the College of Engineering experience for future students, Condon dived into and committed to a number of groups and programs within the college. Today, he is president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter at Illinois. He sits on the Student Advisory Committee to voice comments and concerns of the students, as well as work on existing issues. This year, he was also an Engineering Learning Assistant for Engineering 100.
"It’s not what you do, but why you do it that defines excellence of character to me," Condon said. "I can be involved in as many things as I do, but it’s why I choose to do them. It’s because I want to better the college and improve the experience for future generations as well."
To the undergraduates that aspire to be Knights or want to see a change in the college, Condon said he can relate. When he was a freshman there were parts of his college experience that he wanted to transform as well.
"I thought, 'How am I ever going to change these things? I’m just a freshman,'" Condon said. "The freshmen are the future of the college."
In August 2014, he will begin work at Microsoft in hardware and new product integration.