“College-Level Economics has been incredible this year. I’ve known for a while that I was interested in business and economics but vaguely.”

We recently caught up with senior Matej “Mat” Kubinsky, who came to Loomis Chaffee his sophomore year as an ASSIST scholar. The ASSIST Scholars Program “matches exceptional international students from across the globe with leading American day and boarding private high schools.”

Says Mat, “I feel and have felt very honored to be part of this elite group of students from all over [to receive a scholarship]. The opportunities I got here that I would not have gotten gave me a different view and have changed me in many ways. ... It taught me I had to work for grades, that good results come from hard work and preparation.” He also said his Loomis experiencd has taught him to surround himself with the kinds of people he seeks to be and “when interests are similar, it creates a lot stronger relationship and bond.”

Year: Senior

Hometown: Bratislava, Slovakia

Activities: Swimming and water polo all three years. Captain of the swimming and diving team as a junior and senior and captain of water polo as a senior. He was a prefect last year, “which I enjoyed,” and is a resident assistant (RA) this year, “which I enjoy even more.” 

On swimming: He helped the Pelicans to a second-place team finish in the Founders League Championship by finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle and fourth in the 100 free and contributing to two relay teams that placed second. He said it is a tough sport, and the swimming and diving team is a “tight community. ... We support each other, we laugh together, we’re sad together.” He said he hopes he has been “the type of captain who inspired new and younger swimmers,” just like his captains did when he was a sophomore.

Tell us a bit about back home: “It seems a lot smaller. The houses are smaller. The roads are not as wide. Also, it feels more relaxed. For me it is home, and I love it there. ... The architecture is absolutely wonderful and has a lot of history. Everything is walkable if you have the time, and if you don’t, you can always get there by public transportation.”

Favorite meal from back home: A chicken bone broth soup. The whole chicken goes in, eventually adding herbs and vegetables. “It will cure a cold in a day.”

Favorite snack: Reese’s peanut butter cups. He might even grab one before swimming for a little energy and a filling — but not too filling — snack.

Favorite place on campus: “The second floor of the library — the views to the Meadows or to the quad are just incredible. Especially on a sunny day, the whole second floor seems so nice.”

On being an RA in Culbert Hall, the newest dorm on campus: “It has been awesome. We’re partially underclassmen, partially upperclassmen, and all-gender on the third floor. So I come in contact with all kinds of people. Everyone is really nice, and we are a great, great community together. Always a lot of fun in the dorm.”

Favorite course or assignment: “College-Level Economics has been incredible this year. I’ve known for a while that I was interested in business and economics but vaguely.” He has gained an appreciation for economic principles, which, he said, “help you understand what is going on in the world. Knowing about these principles helps you make better decisions, and the behavioral economics part makes you understand why you make certain decisions.”

Plans for next year: He is attending Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and will study business and management. He also will be closer to home. “I have been missing my family more and more. I left exactly on my sister’s eighth birthday, and now she is 11. I have missed a chunk of her life.” He also said he wants to be closer to his parents to be able to help more. He said Bocconi is an eight-hour drive (“seven if you’re my dad”) from home.

If you could invite someone to dinner, past or present, who would it be? Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. “I read this book after it was recommended to me by a friend at Loomis. It changes the way you view the world, teaches you valuable principles, shifts your paradigm, and I would just like to thank him for creating something like this.”

If you could live 100 years in the past or 100 in the future, which would it be? He noted that 100 years in the past would be around the time of the Great Depression and between World War I and World II. Yet, he said, who knows what we will face 100 years from now in terms of climate change and its effects, “but I believe I’d give humanity a chance and hope we can fix the climate issues, so I am going to be hopeful and go with 100 years in the future.”

On playing guitar this year as part of an act at BenCon, the Student Council’s annual Benefit Concert: “I was part of the closing act. I picked up playing guitar during COVID when there was nothing else to do and played frequently, although after coming to America I did not really have the time to continue until this year. I became close friends with some of the students who regularly took part in Loomis music activities, and I was very glad to be invited to play in the closing act with some of my friends.”