By: Matthew Schwab
Hi, my name is Matthew Schwab, I am a native to North Carolina with Down syndrome. I am 22 years old. I have lived in Holly Springs my whole life. I graduated from Holly Springs High School in 2017 with an Occupational Course of Study diploma. It felt great that I graduated. When I was young my goals to sign up for The Voice, work at the Smithsonian because at the time, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian just came out on DVD.
Some of you know I am a public speaker. To start up a business can be a long process. It was in 2018 when my mom gave the idea to start a business. Then we started to develop the business. It took some time. At the time I was trying to get the name out. It was in October of 2019 when I publicly launched Matthew Schwab Speaks. In a couple months we established a consistent model. By December 13th 2019 Matthew Schwab Speaks skyrocketed because of my TEDX talk I did that day.
My talk is: How I Know Including People With Down Syndrome Is A Good Thing. Please watch it on YouTube here!!
Because of high demand for Matthew Schwab Speaks, just now I am expanding my reach outside of North Carolina.
As for my goals and what is coming up for Matthew Schwab Speaks, I am actively trying to schedule more speaking engagements. It’s kind of hard right now because of everything going on with the coronavirus. This year, I have done two speaking engagements successfully, and one of those was done virtually, and it was great! But other than that, my other engagements were postponed or canceled, unfortunately. Despite this, I remain excited about an upcoming opportunity - I will be speaking at the ARC of Onondaga County in Syracuse, New York in October of 2021. That will be my first time in New York, so it will be a unique experience. To have someone book me for the upcoming year is something that we never thought would happen, so I am very excited to do it!
Being able to work with Able Transition is a great opportunity for me. It makes me more confident in myself. I see myself becoming more at ease with my future. Having a concrete plan helps me keep track so I can secure my future!