Matthew Blomstedt, Ph.D.

Meet the Maximizer
Matthew Blomstedt talks about how COVID-19 vaccination benefits our schools and communities alike, and the importance of protecting the well-being of our children. 

Matthew Blomstedt, Ph.D., is Commissioner of Education for the State of Nebraska 

How do you see COVID-19 impacting students as a whole?
Any disruption in school experience and family life experience is hard. And when everyone around you has been affected, it has this special impact on kids that we must be cautious and careful about. Not just with their physical health, but also their well-being generally. 

How does vaccinating children against COVID-19 benefit you professionally?
It benefits anyone who spends time in our schools. Folks have been on edge about the pandemic for a long time now, and that’s had a severe impact on students in a lot of different ways. But now, there’s kind of this safety net that comes in with the vaccination and the procedures that we’ve had in place. It makes all the schools safer, and that’s a really important part of our education system right now. 

How does vaccinating children benefit you personally? 
Personally, I’m a father as well, so getting the chance to have all of our children vaccinated has been an important thing for me and all parents.  

How does vaccinating children benefit the community? 
So many different activities take place around the school calendar, right? There are so many opportunities for communities to come together. The more people get vaccinated, the safer all our environments become. And the more normal that becomes, the more we’re able to really support our schools in the best way. Just seeing this roll out is really important to create that stability around schools and communities for the long haul.