News Articles
University
2022
UCLA engineering launches new data science engineering minor open to all students
Matthew Craig, a fourth-year computer science and economics student who has declared the minor, said he is interested in the minor to acquire useful skills for potential jobs in the field. He said the pathway has so far focused on machine learning and deep learning.
"I'm glad to see the embrace of data science (by the UCLA engineering department) and the embrace of... the practical skills in the courses that are included in the minor," Craig said.
He said he recommends the minor for any student interested in data science, computation or software engineering as a whole.
2021
UCLA Econ Places in The Fed Challenge
This year UCLA participated in the Federal Reserve Challenge for the first time. The Fed Challenge is a nationwide competition among colleges and universities in which student-teams formulate a monetary policy recommendation and present it to judges from the Fed. The UCLA team finished first in its division and in the top 6 nationwide. The team was composed of Chris Surro (coach), Colleen Burns, David Hu, Jaden Locke, Richard Covrig and Rebecca De La O (presenters), Anna Verghese, Arif Abd Aziz, Jia Chen, Joleen Chiu, Matthew Craig, Michael Keily, Phoebe Chiu, Rawi Baransy, and Shane Hixon (research support).
High School
2019
Veritas Magazine (2018-2019), p. 20
Boys' Cross Country continued their winning ways in 2018, winning their 3rd consecutive Camino Real League title under head coach Brian Haynes '89. Four runners were named 1st Team All-Camino Real League for their efforts: Connor Bevan '20, Matthew Craig '19, Alexander Lehr '21 & Ryan Yearley '20.
MVS Scholarship Recipients Contest Winners - 2019
Matthew Craig - Lodge #1948, CA
Candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program - January 2019
CA - Matthew A. Craig, Torrance - Bishop Montgomery High School
2018
2019 Semifinalists - Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
These 1,896 students were selected from over 95,000 submitted applications from across the country to continue through our selection process.
...California - Matthew Craig, Bishop Montgomery High School
Full California list: National Merit Scholarship semifinalists 2019
The semifinal pool, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, is based on scores from last year's Preliminary SAT.
...BISHOP MONTGOMERY H.S. - Craig, Matthew A. [later named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist]
Veritas Magazine (2017-2018), p. 26
Boys' Cross Country won their 2nd consecutive Camino Real League title under head coach Brian Haynes '89. Five runners were named 1st Team All-Camino Real League for their efforts: Connor Bevan '20, Matthew Craig '19, Brandon Kallenback '18, Mauricio Rosales '20 & Alexander Lehr '21.
Seniors Make History with Perfect SAT and ACT Scores
Bishop Montgomery seniors Matthew Craig '19 and Gerrick Cardenas '19 have recorded perfect scores on their SAT and ACT exams, respectively. Craig took the exam in December 2017 and learned shortly after that he had achieved what only .03% of test takers had– a perfect 1600. Craig also earned a perfect 800 on his SAT II Math exam in June and was recently named a National Merit Semi-Finalist.
...In addition to being an outstanding student, Craig is involved in many extra-curricular activities throughout the South Bay. He is a founding member and president of Bishop's Technology and Programming Club, a varsity cross country runner, a community member of Redondo Union High School's First Robotics Competition Team, and, as of June 28, an Eagle Scout. Craig earned the scout rank by designing and constructing a gaga ball pit at St. Lawrence Martyr School, his alma mater. "Gaga ball is like dodge ball,"" explains Craig, "but players can only strike below the knees... It's a gentler version of dodge ball and perfect for kids of any age, especially little ones."
Elementary School
2015
Redondo Beach quiz kids: Middle Schoolers keep sharp for state academic decathlon
Eighth grade super quiz captain Matthew Craig still gets a few butterflies though he's been through this before.
For the fourth year in a row, middle schoolers from St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic School have captured the Academic Junior High Decathlon title at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
"It is very loud when you go in there," said Craig. "Even though I knew what to expect, I was still a little nervous, but not as nervous as I was the first time I went to the regional competition."
Craig, his 15 teammates and five alternates continue to study as they prepare to move on to state competition in Sacramento April 18.
...To participate on the team, high achieving students must try out, receive teacher recommendations and be strong in a particular subject area where the team needs to fill roles.
"It might not be the smartest person that makes it on the team, but it has to be someone who can work well with everyone on the team and who is willing to work at it," Craig said.
2014
St. Lawrence Martyr rakes 3rd at State Junior High Decathlon
St. Lawrence Martyr School, of Redondo Beach earned third place at the 2014 California State Academic Junior High Decathlon, held April 5 at Aquinas High School in San Bernardino.
...St. Lawrence Martyr placed second in the Logic portion of the competition. Individual awards were earned by Matthew Craig (third, Social Studies), and Sean Keenan (third, Current Events).
St. Lawrence Martyr earns Academic Decathlon 'three-peat'
For the third straight year, St. Lawrence Martyr School of Redondo Beach has won the Academic Junior High Decathlon, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
St. Lawrence Martyr's "three-peat" is the first such accomplishment in the 24-year history of the competition. The 2014 event, held March 1 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, featured teams from 112 junior high schools in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties.
...The St. Lawrence Martyr team won first place in the Logic portion of the competition. Individual awards were also given to team members Svetlana Altshuler (1st place, Literature), Sarah Oppenheim (5th, Religion), Sarah Geltz (6th, Math), Paige Elliott (6th, Fine Arts), Sean Keenan (7th, Current Events), and Matthew Craig (8th, Social Studies). The team placed seventh in Super Quiz.
2013
About Town in Redondo Beach: Week of June 20
St. Lawrence Martyr School in Redondo Beach took second at the California [State] Catholic Schools Academic Junior High Decathlon, held in Fresno last month. In this grueling five hour competition, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students were tested in multiple subjects including logic, science, current events and math.
The team consisted of Rebecca Altshuler, Matthew Craig, Aine Dwane, Amanda Elliott, Sarah Geltz, Sean Keenan, Patrick McNary, Rebecca Moore, Trevor Peitzman, Kalina Poprac, John Schlaerth, Adam Schmieder, Rebecca Schulist, and Colleen Thomas, and was led by Head Coach Kathy Wise and Assistant Coaches Diane Craig and Nina Altshuler.
St. Lawrence Martyr School in Redondo Beach repeats academic decathlon victory
For the second straight year, the academic decathlon team at the St. Lawrence Martyr School in Redondo Beach took the top prize at the annual Junior High Academic Decathlon tournament put on earlier this month by the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
The 10-member crew representing the K-8 campus on Prospect Avenue bested peers from 112 other Catholic schools in a conference that stretches from Ventura to Long Beach.
...This year's standout on the team was Matthew Craig, a sixth-grader who earned best individual science score of the roughly 1,000 competitors.
"That's rare for a sixth-grader,"" Keenan said. "He is a phenom, but he works hard on top of it."