On his first day of middle school, Matt McHugh got a ride to school from his mother. Driving her son to his first day of sixth grade, Christine Moses could tell her son was nervous. As she drove away from the school after saying goodbye and wishing him luck, she saw her son approach the principal of the school. It was his first day, too.

Moses saw her son say something to the principal, and after the two shook hands, McHugh walked off and went to his first class. When he came home from school, she asked him what he had said to his principal earlier that morning. “Matt said that considering he was so nervous that it was his first day, he could only imagine how nervous the principal was, so he wished him luck,” Moses recalled. “He’s always been able to look at the big picture and not focus on just himself.”

Focus has gotten McHugh very far in his life. Now a junior, the physics major is a weight thrower for the Illinois men’s track and field team and an ROTC member. One doesn’t just commit himself to three specialties that barely relate to each other out of the blue.

When it came to choosing where he would attend college, the Exeter, N.H. native’s main focus was academics.

“Track was a secondary concern when it came to choosing the U of I,” McHugh said. “The opportunity to compete at a Big Ten school as a walk-on was just an added bonus.”

Because he only competed in track and field for two years in high school, he was not widely recruited despite being the New Hampshire State Champion in the discus in 2006. In fact, McHugh played basketball for the majority of his athletic life before switching to track and field.

Joining ROTC wasn’t on McHugh’s mind as a freshman. 2009 graduate Andrew Zollner, a pole vaulter for the Illini, first pitched the idea to McHugh last year.

“Zollner would always say that I should be in the army jokingly because of my shaved head,” McHugh said. “He did get the idea in my head, though. I gave it some thought, and I just kind of joined. I really like the idea of leading men somewhere I’ve never been before.”

Initially, McHugh’s parents were less than thrilled about the idea of their son eventually joining the army. However, he says that they have started to understand the satisfaction he will find in doing so.

“Our family doesn’t have a military background, so I was against the idea of Matt joining the military at first, but he showed us how passionate he was about joining, so we are supporting him in his decision,” Moses said. “Because our country is currently at war, you can’t help but be nervous about your son’s wellbeing.”

McHugh’s track and field coaches have also supported his decision. Mike Turk, interim head coach of the Illinois men’s track and field team, was very pleased when learning of his star weight thrower’s intentions of joining ROTC.

“I think it’s great,” Turk said. “I think that if this is something Matt really wants to do and is passionate about, then he should do it. It hasn’t gotten in the way of his throwing, so I’m very pleased with him.”

But how does he do it? Some students find it hard enough to focus on their academics and maybe a club or two.

McHugh admits that it can get overwhelming at times.

“Although I hate to admit it, sometimes there is too much on my plate,” McHugh said. “It’s all about organizing your time and making sure the things you’re doing are what you really want to do.”

Last semester was tough for McHugh. Along with the long hours of offseason track and normal ROTC work, he took four 400-level courses; but it appears that he was able to get through it well.

He’s had a successful indoor track season that includes a school record in the weight throw, and he said that his grades were right where they needed to be.

One of the most impressive things about McHugh’s work load is that his trio of interests do not relate to each other very well. While there is physics in how he controls his body in the weight throw, he says that it does not give him a very large advantage over other competitors. ROTC and track and field are two different areas as well.

“It’s a different kind of being in shape for track than it is being in shape for ROTC,” McHugh said. “I guess ROTC training helps me recover better after track workouts. The two don’t complement each other as much as I would like.”

Despite his three specialties not being very accommodating to each other, McHugh hasn’t regretted his decision to push himself to the limit.

“When I’m sitting around daydreaming, I’m thinking about track, and when I’m not thinking about track I’m thinking about where I’ll be in 10 years,” McHugh said. “I have enough passion for what I’m doing right now that I don’t need anything else right now.”