Matthew Bell, this year’s recipient of Ocean City Fishing Club’s annual scholarship, plans to use his love of math and a desire “to build things” to study mechanical engineering at the University of Central Florida this fall.
“I really like math a lot,” Bell said during a recent visit to the OCFC Fishing Pier. “And I like the concept of designing and building things from the start. It’s very cool.”
For how, he’s leaving open which area of mechanical engineering he’ll pursue, considering its many and varied applications.
“I don’t know what area I’ll specialize in,” he said. “There are so many options, and the advances in computerization are happening so rapidly, I’ll have a lot to explore while in college. Who knows what the future will bring.”
When he gets to the university, which is located in Orlando, he hopes his roommate, a student from Tampa, will help familiarize him with the area, though Matt is no stranger to the state. He and his family have vacationed in the Cape Canaveral area, where he’s enjoyed deep sea fishing.
Until he leaves for college in mid-August, he’ll continue to work as a lifeguard with the Ocean City Beach Patrol, a summer job he’s had for the past three years, as have his two older brothers, Jack and Nick, as well as his father, Mike. His mother, Chris, “escaped” being a lifeguard, he said, smiling broadly, and added that his family moved to Ocean City about 11 years ago.
During his Ocean City High School years, he enjoyed being on the swim team as a “sprinter,” he said, excelling in the 50- and 100-freestyle events, and as an anchor on relays.
The recipient of the Ocean City Fishing Club’s $500 scholarship is recommended by the school’s faculty and administration, and demonstrates the club’s commitment to community involvement.
OCFC also conducts two open houses on the fishing pier to collect food and cash contributions to benefit the Ocean City Food Cupboard. The open houses will be held 6-8 p.m. on July 24 and Aug. 7, with rain dates July 25 and Aug. 8, respectively, if needed. The club will hold the Boys and Girls Surf Fishing Tournament at 10 a.m. on Aug. 9 on the north end beach at the Ocean City-Longport bridge, rain or shine.
Founded in 1913, the Ocean City Fishing Club is the oldest, continually operating fishing club in the United States.
