NW Missouri Times

Matthew Wholey was nearing his graduation at Northwest Missouri State University in 2019 with two bachelor’s degrees when he had a revelation. He was enjoying his coursework and experience so much that he decided to pursue a third bachelor’s degree.

A native of Parkville, Missouri, Wholey completed degrees in computer science and mathematics in 2019. After working in cybersecurity at Expedia for about three years – just enough to budget another two years of coursework at Northwest – he returned to the university and graduated in April with a bachelor’s degree in physics.

“If money wasn’t an object, I’d probably stay in school forever,” he said.

Wholey's experience began with touring other colleges and universities in Missouri. Ultimately, he was attracted to Northwest by the personal attention he received and its friendly campus environment.

“The gave a really good tour,” Wholey said. “It was the only place I went where a professor sat down with me individually and asked me questions and had a one-on-one conversation. The campus is great, and it was also the best financial decision for me.”

Wholey formed friendships outside of his classes as a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and dedicated himself to his learning. By majoring in computer science and mathematics, he wondered if he was missing out on learning about something else he enjoyed – physics.

“The initial plan had always been to do the degree and then basically get a job,” said Wholey, who completed Physics I and II as summer courses during his first turn at Northwest. “I hadn’t really thought much more about it, but as I went through college and experienced more things … I kind of felt like I had just gotten to see how cool physics would be if I had been able to really go for it.”

As he neared the completion of his degrees in computer science and mathematics, Wholey could have graduated in three-and-a-half years. Instead, he opted to stay at Northwest for another semester to try a physics course with Dr. Himadri Chakraborty.

“I just really devoured the class,” Wholey said. “I took that class and I was like, ‘Wow, this is different than the things I’d seen before.’”

Matthew Wholey earned bachelor's degrees at Northwest in computer science and mathematics with a data science emphasis before returning three years later to complete a third degree in physics.

Wholey enjoyed the course so much that he began thinking then about returning to Northwest to pursue a physics degree. As he started his career in the computer science field, Wholey maintained contact with Chakraborty, discussing potential research projects during Zoom meetings. Then, Wholey returned to Northwest in fall 2022 to fulfill that academic goal.

“I feel like I timed it pretty well because I don’t look much older, so people just assumed I’m a senior, which I’ll accept,” said Wholey, now 27. “I was really worried about that.”

As a physics major, Wholey maintained commitment to his coursework while trying research and joining student organizations not previously explored during his undergraduate experience.

“It had been three years, so everyone I would’ve known is gone; I knew I had to restart,” he said. “I went to the Org Fair and joined a couple clubs: Art Club, Horticulture Club, Math Club. That’s more involvement than last time.”

Wholey was elected president of Math Club and helped organize Pi Day activities in March. Being part of Art Club presented opportunities for creative projects; Horticulture Club took him on tours of Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, and Powell Gardens in Kansas City, Missouri.

As a researcher, Wholey presented this summer at an American Physical Society conference alongside classmate Joan Jimenez and faculty member Dr. Ruma De. In collaboration with Chakraborty and De, Wholey used his computer science skills on code for Northwest’s Bartik Cluster—a high-performance computing system analyzing large datasets—and co-authored a research manuscript.

In fall 2024, Wholey will begin work as teaching/research assistant at Rice University while pursuing a Ph.D.

“My experience with Dr. Chakraborty and Dr. De has been—they’re very generous with their time,” Wholey said. “Putting my name on papers is something they don’t have to do… Coming in with papers makes a big difference.”

Wholey believes research experiences at Northwest were crucial for acceptance into Rice University.

“There were internships… job fairs… mock interviews—I did all those things,” Wholey said.“By the time I did real interviews…I sailed through.”

After completing his doctoral degree, Wholey hopes either join academia or return to computer science field.

“Had I gone elsewhere… there’s no way I'd come out with credentials achieved through Northwest,” he said.

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