When Ignacio Matorras was a sophomore, focused his first bid for class president on defense of the spicy chicken sandwich.
“I ran my campaign on that, which is obviously very different from what I do now,” Matorras said, laughing.
The sandwich — and a delicious dipping sauce — was previously removed from the Belmont High School cafeteria, much to the chagrin of students. Though he wasn’t successful in putting it back on the menu, Matorras cemented his mark as class president for the remainder of his high school career.
Now a three-year class president and senior, Matorras will be one of nearly 400 students to cross the stage at graduation on June 6.
“It’s pretty surreal to be honest,” he said. “Not seeing people that I’m used to seeing every single day is going to be super weird, but we’re all on to amazing things, and I’m super excited to see what’s next for our class.”
Matorras had his hands full outside the class office. He played soccer for Belmont all four years of high school, with the past two being on varsity, and participated in indoor track and field for three years, as well as rugby and outdoor track. Matorras’ father is from Argentina, where soccer is at the heart of the country’s culture. He’s played the sport all his life, and now works at a soccer school, sharing his passion with the next generation.
“I love everyone that I’m on sports teams with. It’s been a great experience, and there are great coaches as well that have helped me out,” Matorras said.
On and off the field, Matorras brings people together, said boys varsity soccer coach Chris Camille.
“He got along with every different little group that the teams ended up having. He was a part of all of them,” Camille said. “It was just so obvious that he was skilled at that. I’m sure that’s going to serve him really well with whatever sort of leader he’s going to be when he is in college.”
An athlete through and through, Matorras was also one of The Voice’s sports writers, contributing weekly roundups of game results and statewide standings.
This year, Matorras served as the National Honor Society vice president and as one of five student representatives to the School Committee. He is also a representative to the Greater Boston Regional Student Advisory Council.
Though Matorras had his hands full during the school year, Camille said he approached every responsibility with respect and care.
“He’s a great kid. I don’t think anybody would describe him otherwise. I think I was always really impressed with how involved he was,” Camille said.
Approaching graduation, he said he’ll miss the people and organizations that made the past four years so memorable, but that a little rest and relaxation is needed.
“It’s going to be very, very nice and relieving to have that stress off my shoulders,” Matorras said.
In the last few weeks, Belmont seniors have taken part in celebrations to mark their final year of high school. From a senior prank — in which students camped all night on the rugby field and later threw a “rave” during school — to Senior Assassin, Matorras played a key role in creating lifelong memories for the Class of 2026.
At each event he helped organize or attended, he saw his classmates become closer as they all neared a new stage of life. Seniors created a “lip dub” video, held a cookout during class, and closed out the year on May 29 with prom at the Park Plaza in Boston.
On their last day of school, Matorras said their class all gathered on the second floor of the high school to say their first of many goodbyes.
“I feel like there’s a phenomenon that’s talked about a lot, where at the end of senior year, everyone sort of comes closer together, and that was definitely true for my class,” Matorras said. “It felt like an amazing community where everyone was just so nice and supportive of one another, and just supporting people on what’s gonna happen in the next chapter.”
While Matorras will be taking on new challenges at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall as a political science and economics major, he’s walking away from Belmont High School with more than just a diploma.
“I feel like, as we’ve all grown older, we all sort of realized that you can be whoever you want, and people are gonna accept you, however that is,” Matorras said.
