The Difference One Life Can Make

From Elisha Chan

I want to take a moment to honor a dear friend of mine, Dr. Matthew Silverman. As I write this, he is in his final days at the age of 40 dying from a terminal intestinal cancer. Even amid his greatest pain and suffering, he speaks about his longing to go back to Haiti and to continue to make an impact around the world. 

Matt Silverman’s accomplishments include a PhD in Chemical Engineering from UCLA and a prestigious career in teaching medical diagnostics at SFSU. Matt Silverman has also invested heavily in the next generation as the youth director at Calvary Armenian Congregational Church.

His life has made me reflect more about my own. We all hope to leave a legacy; to know that the world is better because we existed. Many strive for great monuments cut from stone, stoic and reserved. But, I think the monuments that stand the test of time are those that continue to influence lives for the better. The Greeks had a proverb that summarized it best: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”

Dr. Matt Silverman has planted many such trees throughout his life. In the lives of children and college students; over cups of coffee and science projects; in hospitals and from his home. The impact of his life is all around us. 

MAXIMIZING OUR ONE LIFE

Matt, we will miss you but we are committed to continuing the work in Haiti; to educate and raise up the next generation of leaders. We are determined to do the best we can with the time we have. Perhaps you, dear reader, have felt overwhelmed by the problems in Haiti. But, Matt would be the first to tell you that all it takes is one person stepping out to inspire change. It is already happening.

Now, it’s up to us to carry it forward. Are you ready to impact a nation’s future?