Faith, academics, and athletics set example for many PRHS
Senior Matthew Horne, with his passionate determination and quiet yet fiery leadership, holds a host of accolades from his high school career, including Future West Point cadet, President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Boys State representative, Lion’s Club award winner, advanced placement student, varsity baseball player and all-league football player. The youngest child of the famed Horne family has blazed his own path while still following in the excellence of his older siblings to assert himself as one of the most prominent Bearcats to walk the halls of Paso Robles High School.
Horne is known as a Christian, athlete, and leader. All of his time is spent in excelling these categories. In his spiritual life, Horne is a youth leader who seeks to bring the moral values of Christianity to every aspect of his life. Horne said that he believes it is his purpose to use his talents and position as FCA President to “spread the good news of Jesus Christ” and motivate others to follow him in his journey of attempting to improve and be the best version of himself everyday.
In the realm of athletics and academics, Horne boasts a 4.43 GPA and took the toughest classes on campus his junior and senior years, including AP Calculus AB, Physics, Literature and Macroeconomics, while also being a part of the varsity football and baseball teams.The task of balancing AP classes while also playing on multiple varsity sport teams is no easy feat, but over the past four years Horne has succeeded on both the field and in the classroom due to his unmatched work ethic.
As a starter and leader on the offensive linemen this past year for the varsity football team, Horne had the unique ability to clearly communicate and motivate his fellow players. With a slightly undersized frame for a varsity linemen, standing at 6’1” and 190 pounds, Horne was able to help lead his team to success. Due to his effort on the field, he earned All-League honors for being one of the best linemen on the Central Coast. With his commitment to excellence, Horne is one of the most respected and highly regarded players on the team by coaches and players alike.
Football head coach Rich Schimke describes Horne as the “rock” of offensive line.
“[He] was a big part of the leadership and bond that the team had and was somebody that other players could rely on,” Schimke said.
By being a stable leader by example, Horne was able to lead the varsity football team to a successful 8-3 record despite having one of the toughest schedules in school history.
Horne is most known for his aptitude to lead his fellow peers and classmates. As soon as he clears his throat and speak, his words surge and echo with combination of confidence and intelligence.
This characteristic has led Horne to be a Boy’s State representative, Lion’s Club award winner and ultimately a large reason why Horne was accepted to West Point Military Academy. The university states its admission mission as wanting “leaders who are not only intelligent, but those who are physically fit and of outstanding character,” and being strong in all of these categories, Horne was able to differentiate himself enough to be part of the nine percent of students that make it through the application process to be accepted to the oldest of the military academies.
Horne will leave for the East Coast on July 2 to start the next chapter of his life with what he called “cautious optimism.” At West Point, Horne will major in economics to follow his passion for money, practicality and the entrepreneurial spirit; he realized his passion after taking AP Macroeconomics his senior year.
“Due to his upbringing and commitment, consistency and passion, no matter what career path he takes he is going to be asset. He is going to bring that Horne mentality and continue on being the success he already is. There is no doubt that he is going to continue making Paso proud,” Schimke said.
