‘I know Matthew is up there smiling:’ Phase Four Learning Center students graduate with heavy hearts

BALDWIN (KDKA) — It was an exciting but bleak day at Baldwin on Saturday.

Nearly 400 seniors from the Phase Four Learning Center walked on stage and graduated.

But it was the absence of two of their classmates that prevented it from being a truly celebratory day.

The sun shone above the Baldwin High School stadium as the seniors walked across the stage in their caps and gowns.

The school helps disadvantaged students who are at risk of not graduating and said it was their biggest promotion yet.

However, there were two of their classmates missing; Marvin Matthews, 19, and Matthew Steffy-Ross, 17.

Marvin died in a shooting in Braddock on Sunday and Matthew was one of two teenagers killed in the mass shooting at an Airbnb on the North Side on Easter Sunday.

Marvin’s family spoke to the crowd while fighting back tears.

“I want to thank you all at phase four for honoring him in Jesus name, Amen,” his mother said.

Matthew’s loved ones felt comforted during this monumental day.

“Believe it or not, I have a lot of joy because I know Matthew is up there smiling like he walked across the stage here and graduated,” said Bonnie McClain, Matthew’s great-aunt. .

Family members said Matthew was a light to everyone he knew.

“People gravitated to his light,” McClain said. “They just came up to him and loved him.”

The school’s president and CEO said encouraging her students keeps them going.

“I told them never to give up,” said Dr. Terrie Suica-Reed, founder, president and CEO of Phase Four. “There is a lot of good in his world and they are part of our future.”

McClain said that after graduation, Matthew intended to continue developing his own clothing line with the help of some of his mentors.