Matt Dathe was editor of the Daily Aztec back in 1989. He became president of the Alumni Association in 2003. He is married to Stephanie who is a graduate of the class of 1995. They have a delightful baby daughter who will undoubtedly attend San Diego State. The reason I know this is that Matt and Stephanie live and breathe for SDSU. They are high-achieving, diehard Aztecs committed to the overall well being of their community and our university.

Matt is the type of guy whose compliments are sincere; (he regularly appreciates our monthly newsletter http://alumni.sdsu.edu/enews) and whose criticisms are well thought out and constructive. So recently when he told me about a day he spent with his grandfather-in-law I listened with great interest.

It seems that Matt had some issues surrounding his own grandfather whom he lost a while back. I got the impression that Matt regretted not going on a trip with him and then one day it was too late. Determined to keep his regrets in the “then again too few to mention” category, Matt asserted himself with his grandfather-in-law Jack. As you can see from the attached photologue, Matt persuaded Jack to make a one day, 15 hour foray to his Hometown in Oregon.

When I asked Matt how Stephanie had reacted to his trip with her grandfather he sloughed it off and said “the baby was sick, and it was difficult for her with me being gone.” When I asked Stephanie I got a much stronger reaction, which included some welling up. Made me proud to know him.

So if any of you were thinking about acting out on an impulse that keeps finding its way into your front burner conscious, I’d say go with it. So would Matt.

For photos, visit http://alumni.sdsu.edu/blog/jackbook.pdf.