Erie is fortunate to have young entrepreneurial minds working to make this city vibrant and diverse, with multiple employment avenues. Attorney Matthew Reichert is a Gannon alumnus at the forefront of that charge and we are proud to have this recent Erie Reader “40 Under 40” recipient as a part of our family.
#GannonFamily is certainly true for 2011 Gannon graduate Matthew Reichert and his own immediate family. Daniel Reichert, Matthew’s dad, is a 1993 alumnus and Matthew’s sister Tiffany earned her degree in nursing from Gannon in 2009. Matthew and his family are lifelong Gannon basketball fans and so it is no surprise that his favorite spot on campus is the Hammermill Center.
Matthew graduated in 2011 with a degree in Political Science. He was an active student and participated in a number of campus organizations, including Pi Kappa Alpha, IFC (Vice President), Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honors Fraternity) and Relay for Life. His favorite professor was Dr. Ostrowski and adds, “Fun fact - Dr. O’s wife was my kindergarten teacher at St. John’s in Girard.”
Professionally, Matthew serves two roles. He is the Global Operations Manager and General Counsel at Logistics Plus Linguistic Solutions (LPLS), headquartered in downtown Erie. He also serves as Director of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives for Iron Empire Clothing, another Erie business. As General Counsel at LPLS, Reichert negotiates all contracts, represents the business in legal proceedings, and provides many other duties as the in-house attorney. He was the second person to join LPLS three years ago; now they have more than 25 interpreters serving local, regional and national clients. LPLS has also moved into the international sector with clients in such places as the Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Portugal and other locations. Matthew manages the day-to-day operation of the business in addition to his work as General Counsel. With Iron Empire Clothing, Matthew helped develop the business and strategic programming utilized to achieve long-term success. He also helped pioneer their #MyErie campaign, along with other initiatives aimed at creating a sense of pride in the Erie Region. Matthew shared with us that he has traveled all over the U.S. and has met Gannon alumni everywhere, adding, “The Gannon brand is much stronger than you realize as a student. Be proud of your University, Erie, the Erie Region and the alums you share a common bond with.”
Matthew’s advice to current Gannon students is to keep academics as a top priority, but not the only priority. He encourages students to seek out opportunities to be involved, engaged and enthusiastic about the things that motivate them. He ended with these words of wisdom, “Take calculated risks, step outside of your comfort zone and understand that the fluid success of your career is based on your education, intelligence and also your social charisma and personal relationships.”
On advice to give to Gannon Students, Tolic says “Do what you like, never stop learning and always look for those new experiences. Find your passion and don’t give up.”
(published December 2017)