PASSION PROJECTS

Matthew Sheehy ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™19

By Elizabeth Rodgers
Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

"Whenever I set out to build something new, I remind myself that IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™m going to fail. A lot. IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ll start with a small prototype, and it wonÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™t turn out quite right. Then IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ll build another version, and that one will be just OK. IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ll improve on the design of the second iteration, and I still wonÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™t be satisfied. It is such a crazy thing to see something youÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ve worked on for so long suddenly work exactly like you envisioned it would. ItÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s the best feeling in the world. ThatÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s what I keep in the back of my mind when IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™m at the point where I feel like all IÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ve done is fail. I know itÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s going to be worth it."Matthew Sheehy ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™19

Matthew Sheehy ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™19, a former Kauffman Scholarship recipient and graduate of the University of New HavenÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s Mechanical Engineering Program, currently works with periscopes, masts, and antennas at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, Rhode Island. He is also co-founder of Modernized Startups, a company that offers 3D printing services for business advertising. Sheehy ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ” pictured here with a hovercraft he built as a class project ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ” expressed this creative streak throughout his time at the University by building and prototyping a variety of products, including motorized longboards, quadcopters, hovercrafts, and jet scooters.



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