DANBURY, CONN. — For Newtown resident Matthew Cole, the education that led to his graduation last May at Western Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work provided both the foundations and the inspiration to continue to build on what he has done for most of his young life — serving the community he cherishes and working to bring about policy change for the common good of society.

Cole, who has volunteered during the past 12 years in more than two dozen service projects to renovate homes from western Connecticut to Appalachia and Mississippi, took a bold step into the political arena this fall as the Democratic nominee for the state House of Representatives seat for the 106th District. Although he was defeated by Republican Rep. Mitch Bolinsky in the Nov. 4, 2014, general election, he affirmed that he remains passionate in his pursuit of a public policy career.

Cole’s youth at 26 years of age belies a remarkable wealth of experience in public affairs gained during two Western internship assignments that took him to the state capitol in Hartford to perform diverse tasks as a legislative aide, policy analyst and communications specialist. His exemplary academic and field work at Western was recognized in October when he received the Bachelor of Social Work Student of the Year Award from the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). In introducing her former student at the chapter’s executive board meeting in Cromwell, Department of Social Work Chair Patricia Ivry observed that his interest in pursuing a career devoted to social change and public policy set him apart from his peers.

“Every once in a while, a student comes along who has a passion for helping people by contributing to bringing about change in the community and in society,” Ivry remarked. “Matt Cole was just such a student.”

Two years before he entered the political fray as a candidate, Cole was taking a crash course in the legislative process and constituent representation as part of his first WCSU social work field assignment as an intern in the office of Rep. Christopher Lyddy. Then in his final year as House member from the 106th District that includes Newtown and Sandy Hook, Lyddy offered opportunities during the internship to draft testimony for hearings, research pending legislation, track bills, respond to constituent inquiries, and provide other support to management of the legislative office.

“I had a cynical attitude toward government before then, but seeing how he combined government and social work convinced me that government can be a force for good if you are serving the people you represent,” Cole said. “Seeing how he ran his office and what he did for his constituents made me think more critically about the work that a politician does. Local government really does have more impact on your everyday life than many people realize.”

The fact that legislators in the General Assembly represent populations of smaller size than the larger districts served by members of Congress helps to make politics more personal in Hartford than in Washington, he said. “When politics is closer to the local level, legislators have to be more responsive to the people they represent because they are your neighbors — the same people you see at the store or the post office or the community concert.”

Ivry said that Lyddy, who holds a master’s degree in social work, proved well suited as a field instructor who gave his intern first-hand experience in public policy practice and the legislative process. She quoted Lyddy’s observation that Cole “is a compassionate, thoughtful and talented advocate who has the ability and passion to look deeper into public and social policy issues that impact underserved populations. Matt’s natural concern for others is not something that can be taught.”

His compassion for others, especially those less fortunate than himself, has been an integral part of his life since he first joined the Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Servants (NEWS) in 2002 as an eighth-grade student and member of Newtown Congregational Church. During the past 12 years, he has volunteered in home building, renovation and improvement projects conducted locally by HomeFront, and nationally by Group Workcamps, the Appalachian Project, and the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi. In the most recent of his 14 mission trips to Biloxi this June, he served as one of nine adult chaperones with a group of 40 youths from the Newtown area for a weeklong project, and stayed on as a construction project supervisor in the coastal Mississippi region still recovering from the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

“Volunteering for housing renovations has held a special place in my heart,” he said. “If you have things to give to people and you don’t give them, you’re not a complete human being. You think you’re going just to work on a house for a week. Instead, you learn about people, their families and how they move on from a traumatic experience, and about the kindness and compassion of strangers.”

Cole’s longtime engagement in service projects and emerging career interest in the public policy field prepared him to take full advantage of the academic opportunities offered by Western’s Department of Social Work, where he enrolled in fall 2010 after transferring from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He credited the social work faculty at WCSU for their commitment to quality instruction, collegial treatment of their students, and ready accessibility outside the classroom as advisers and mentors.

“The biggest lesson that my social work teachers at Western imparted was always to speak up about an injustice you see, and never be afraid to raise your voice in doing right by your clients,” he said. “The education that the social work program at Western provides is some of the best instruction you can receive at any university. Faculty members are committed to teaching and want to be addressed as peers, because they recognize we will soon be working with them as colleagues in the field.”

Cole completed his senior year at WCSU with two more internships in field assignments that placed him at the Danbury Courthouse as a social worker in the jail diversion program and in Hartford as a policy research aide to the Connecticut chapter of the NASW. His internship in Danbury focused on work to identify treatment alternatives to incarceration for individuals in the criminal justice system who suffer from mental health or substance abuse problems. His assignment in the state capital, which included an opportunity to present testimony at a House committee public hearing, left NASW staff members impressed by “his strong communication and networking skills and his keen understanding of policy-making processes,” Ivry noted.

Cole’s education at Western prepared him well for the decision shortly after his graduation to pursue his passion for the practice of public policy by seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Bolinsky, who succeeded Lyddy in January 2013 as representative for the 106th District. Cole conceded that the rigorous daily demands of a political campaign proved challenging, especially when he toured neighborhoods and met at times with cold or hostile receptions “that take a toll on your self-confidence.” Yet he remains a firm believer that the political process works best when all parties to public policy debate “treat each other with dignity and respect, whether we agree or not.”

“Let’s start from our similarities rather than our differences,” he said. “As long as we can sit down in a spirit of respect, we can identify problems and work on legislation based on the evidence before us. Sometimes egos get in the way, and that is an injustice to the people you represent.”

Ivry expressed pride and delight that a graduate of the WCSU social work program had chosen to run for public office, and noted that Cole’s desire to serve his hometown reflects his strong roots and commitment to the Newtown community. Following the deaths of 26 students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, Cole helped to coordinate his church’s collection of donations to support families of the victims and participated in organizing a townwide vigil observance. But the traumatic impact also affected his ability to focus on his studies, and his social work instructors encouraged him to take a semester’s hiatus to recover.

Cole recalled that an important step toward healing took place when he joined several other Newtown residents several weeks after the tragedy on a previously planned mission to work at the Back Bay project in Mississippi. During their stay, they received daily visits from the executive director of the project, an ordained minister who also holds a master’s degree in social work. “She came in every night and talked to us about what we were going through,” he recalled. “She had been the minister there at the time of Katrina, and she helped to guide us through our own trauma.”

“Matt was deeply affected by the tragedy in Sandy Hook,” Ivry remarked. “His family has lived in Newtown and owned a business there for generations. One of the ways he has responded to the horror is with an even stronger resolve to his community — and what better way than through using his strong social work skills to serve the community he loves so much?”

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