Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Matt went to Catholic schools, including Mount Michael, a boarding school run by the Benedictine order of monks in Elkhorn, Nebraska. The monks made him into an excellent student because “there was basically nothing else to do at night.” Matt ran track all four years of high school, specializing in the half-mile. He went on to the University of Nebraska for both college and law school, graduating with high honors each time.