When Woodstock Academy senior Matthew Myslenski logged on to check his application status for Harvard University last month, he was mentally prepared himself to see a rejection letter. Instead, when the website updated, he saw confetti. He was accepted.
"I was completely in shock," said Myslenski, who has dreamed of attending Harvard since he was in elementary school. "I think it was just one of the best moments in my life."
Myslenski's twin sister, Magdalena, said it was one of the best moments of her life, too. She was next to him on the couch when he found out.
"I get so excited every time I get to talk about it because obviously Matthew worked so hard for this," Magdalena said.
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Matthew has cerebral palsy, a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.
"Not only did I have to challenge myself academically, I had to physically work to get to a point that I can do what I want to do," Matthew said.
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Matthew and Magdalena's mom was recording when the twins found out about Matthew's acceptance to Harvard. The video of them reacting has reached millions.
"No matter what your ability is, you can achieve what you want to in life," Matthew said. "You can overcome anything that you want to."
Matthew's teachers said he is one of the hardest working students at the school. They were not surprised that a student of his caliber would receive an acceptance to an Ivy league school.
“He has never given up. I think that says so much about his character. It says so much about his family’s character. He was taught from a young age that if you want to succeed, you have to overcome and you can not give up. That’s the biggest message here," said Sara Dziedzic, one of Matthew's teachers.
Matthew is in the top 10 of his class at The Woodstock Academy. He is involved in medical club and is a member of six honor societies, according to a press release from the school.
"I think Harvard is really lucky to get someone who is not only going to be academically driven, who is going to give back to the community, but is going to add an element to that campus that being caring and compassionate is really important," Dziedzic said.
Matthew's inspiration to attend Harvard came from his doctors at Boston Children's Hospital. Following in his parents' footsteps, Matthew plans on pursuing a career in medicine.
His twin sister, Magdalena, also received an early acceptance. She will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
While the twins are a little nervous about being separated, Magdalena said she will be calling Matthew for science help and Matthew will be calling her to proofread his essays.
