About Matt

Throughout his life, Matt Rutherford has never let anything or anyone ever limit him.  Due to complications at birth, Matt was afflicted with cerebral palsy, which resulted in his permanently crippled condition. Surprisingly, a disability resulting from Cerebral Palsy (CP) has never stood between him and his life goals.  From the moment he was born, Matt demonstrated his ability to overcome the odds.  During the birthing process, he was deprived of oxygen for more than 20 minutes.  This lack of oxygen resulted in damage to the cerebral cortex. While the lack of oxygen did not affect Matt’s cognitive ability, it significantly impacted his muscle control and movement.

From childhood and continuing into his employment today as a senior program manager/engineer for the federal government, Matt has shattered the stereotypes others have about people with disabilities.  At the age of three, doctors assessed Matt’s motor skills at a level of less than a twelve-month old, but he demonstrated an above average intellect with adaptive behavior comparable to that of a five year old. The same doctors described Matt’s condition to be moderate to severe.  While he might learn to walk, but it would be improbable that he would ever run, climb a tree, throw a ball, swim, or play a musical instrument. Through God’s blessings, hard work, determination, and intelligence, Matt has repeatedly shattered these perceptions and overcome challenges presented to him daily. Ultimately, Matt obtained two college degrees: Bachelor of Science in Urban Systems Engineering (Civil) and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering.

As Matt was looking to enter the workforce, he met a new set of obstacles.  He found himself forced to deal with other people’s perceptions (and biases) of him during interviews.  Shortly into the process he realized what the problem was: fear of the unknown.  It’s very hard for people to step out of a comfort zone and see the world from another perspective. Always optimistic, Matt understood that there’s a season for everything.  Matt stayed the path towards civil engineering, but would soon find out that there was a right turn ahead.  Opportunity would present itself with a 13-month disability internship.  He climbed the ranks from a junior engineer assisting in the development of the department’s website to the department’s senior engineer designing and implementing external network infrastructure.

Soon after September 2001, Matt began to re-evaluate his priorities, maintaining a close relationship with family members moved to the top of the list. Due to his sisters’ recent relocation to Charleston, SC, Matt began to apply for jobs in the area. After a few months, he was hired at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Atlantic. Approximately nine months after moving to Charleston, Matt would meet his future wife. Today, Matt is happily married and has two daughters and one son. Matt often marvels that within a 10-year span, he went “from unmarried to married, no kids to three kids, hair to no hair and blessed to very blessed.”

Matt now wants to share his inspiring story with others by providing individuals with the message of “Seeing Obstacles As Rewards” (SOAR).  Not a day goes by that Matt doesn’t face at least one, if not many obstacles.  However, he faces them in a different light than most. Throughout his life Matt has demonstrated his positive outlook, and he now wants to lead by example.  He hopes to help others believe nothing is impossible if you have enough drive and determination.  Through SOAR, Matt hopes to spread this message, and influence individuals to make the most of their lives.