MONTEVALLO, Ala - Former Montevallo men's basketball player Matthew Nelson has been named to the 2021 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40 list. Nelson, who was a member of the UM basketball team from 2007-11 under Coach Danny Young, serves as Vice President of Facilities for the Birmingham Airport Authority (BAA). He joined the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International (BHM) Airport as his second job out of college and quickly rose through the ranks to his present position by the time he was 32 years old.

"Matt was a great young man to coach and be around," said Coach Young. "It does not surprise me at all of the success he is having.  He was a great teammate a hard worker and always someone I could count on. I am very proud of him."

Nelson came to Montevallo from Ramsay High School in Birmingham, where he played on the 5A State Championship team in his junior season. He visited the campus during the Falcons 2007 run to the NCAA Division II Elite 8 and Trustmark Arena was packed with fans. That experience, along with the University's close proximity to Birmingham was enough to convince Nelson to sign to play for the Falcons. "For me it was an easy call to come play for one of the best D2 schools in the nation,"  he said. 

When Nelson joined the team, the roster was overwhelmingly new. Gone were the stars from the championship run. In addition, Montevallo was packing their bags to move to a new conference home. "My first year, we did pretty well in the Gulf South Conference," said Nelson. "Then we wound up going to the Peach Belt, which was very different."

The Peach Belt Conference was larger and the makeup of the schools were similar to Montevallo. None of the institutions had football and much of the concentration was on basketball. Nelson remembers the hectic road schedule that the PBC presented. "It was very challenging, especially traveling. We would go on 5-game road trips that would take us to South Carolina, Florida and Georgia...it felt like we were an NBA team," reflected Nelson. "Trying to do that and keep studying was challenging."

Although playing basketball, while maintaining his focus in the classroom was a task, Nelson credited the support of his coaches, instructors and fellow athletes for his being able to navigate toward success as a student. 

After graduating, Nelson aspired to coach. He interned at the Boys and Girls Club in Montevallo, assisting with the kids, developing as a leader. His first paying job out of college was as a dispatcher at a company that provided medical assistance to elderly patience. "I needed something to get my feet wet," he explained. "I was a sneaker head back then. I was living at home with no bills, so all of my money went to shoes."

Nelson was later promoted to supervisor, then a new door opened for him that would pave the wave to his professional future. He transitioned to the Shuttlesworth Airport. where there was an opening in the operations department. He climbed the ladder, advancing through the management until an opportunity in the maintenance department developed under a new administration at Shuttlesworth.  He accepted a position as manager of facilities and less than a year later, he was promoted to Vice President by Airport CEO Ronald Mathieu.

These days, the young man from Birmingham, who is now a husband and a father of a one-year-old daughter, has his sights set on overseeing an airport one day. "My goal is to become a CEO and run my own airport," said Nelson. "I've learned the operations side, now I'm learning the finance, business, and HR side. I still have a lot to learn, several certifications I need to earn, so I have a long way to go."

It appears that this Falcon is set to fly a long way into the future.

Click here to read the entire article about Nelson's selection to the Top 40 Under 40 list in the industry news magazine, Aviation Pros.