Celebrating the Light of Mattie Newman

On Saturday, March 15th, our Riverview East Academy community suffered a devastating loss. Our beloved Mattie Newman was tragically killed in a car accident along with her mother, Melissa. Her father, Matthew, remains in critical condition.

To know Mattie was to love her. Mattie was an amazing 17 year old. She was kind, empathetic, honest, an amazing and loyal friend, stood up for her beliefs, worked hard, and was constantly looking for ways to make the world around her a better place. Mattie was heavily involved in our school; she was so important to our school culture. She was an integral player on our volleyball team, serving as Co-Captain this season, always pushing her teammates to train hard. Even in the off season, she was seen practicing at every moment she could. Mattie was an important member of Girls to Women, providing sisterhood and support to girls in our school. She was always one of the first to make students feel welcome, saying hello to everyone in the classrooms and the hallway. Mattie was in our Book Club, and while she never won the vote for the books we chose, she graciously read her classmates' picks each time, keeping an open mind to branch out in her genres of choice. Mattie and her friends recently picked up crochet and took it upon themselves to find a teacher to lead a new club, Crochet Club, encouraging many other students in our school to join and learn a new skill.

Outside of extracurricular activities, Mattie was a force to be reckoned with academically. Mattie held her ranking of 3rd in her class, and had great aspirations for her future. She took pride in her school work, never wanting to cut corners. She was the heart and soul of our Allied Health program, working tirelessly to prepare for her State Tested Nursing Assistant examination. She was a natural leader in class, encouraging her classmates to keep focused to complete their work, only after everyone was done would she pull out a novel, her newest crochet project, or a volleyball.

Somehow after all of her school involvement, she would change into her work uniform and go straight from school to her job, saving up for driving school, a car, and her bright future. Mattie took such pride in setting herself up for an incredible future. She was determined to accomplish great things during and after high school, it is truly heartbreaking that her life was taken so soon.

We feel grateful to have a strong community banding together in this devastating time. We humbly ask for your support with the financial burden as Mattie’s family navigates such a great loss. We are asking for donations to assist the Newman family with funeral costs for Mattie and her mother, as well as medical costs for her father, who remains in critical care.