Matthew Moretto turns years of work into a pair of Tri-C degrees

December 14, 2016

Matthew Moretto knew he could handle the academic rigors of college after graduating from Medina High School with honors in 2005. His bank account, however, couldn’t meet the financial demands of higher education.

“It wasn’t just a question of affording college,” Moretto said. “It was about affording life.”

So Moretto worked … and worked … and worked some more. He’d deliver pizzas as day turned to night and then stock shelves at a local store into morning. He routinely logged 70-hour work weeks.

He kept that sort of schedule for nine years. “That whole time, I knew my goal was college,” Moretto said. “That’s what kept me going.”

After building his savings and buying a reliable car and computer, Moretto enrolled at Cuyahoga Community College to pursue his dream. He sat down for his first college lecture at the Western Campus in January 2014.

Moretto remembers worrying how he’d fare after so much time away from the classroom. He took that nervous energy and poured it into his studies. Papers and tests returned with a familiar letter at the top.

“Once those A’s started coming,” he said, “I never wanted them to stop.”

They never did, either. Moretto has maintained a 4.0 GPA while earning two degrees from Tri-C. The Medina resident received an Associate of Arts degree in May and will receive an Associate of Science degree at Thursday night’s commencement ceremony.

During the ceremony, at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, Moretto will serve as student speaker – one of the few who will have the honor of addressing the fall class of 2016.

“We come to Tri-C to make dreams come true,” said Moretto, 30, the first in his family to graduate from college. “That’s what all of us here have in common. Tri-C gives you a chance to be something more.”

Moretto will transfer to The Ohio State University in January to pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science. He plans to graduate from Ohio State in 2018. After that, he hopes to attend Cleveland State’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

“It all depends on money,” Moretto said. “I may have to take a few years off to work, but I’ll get there eventually.”