Hard work has paid off for 17-year-old Matthew Brady as the honour roll Mount St Agnes senior prepares for college abroad on a scholarship.

“I have a life path, and it probably comes from my parents,” Matthew told The Royal Gazette. “If you put in the work now, you get the reward later.”

A history buff with a dream of becoming an archaeologist, Matthew also plans to study business as a back-up at Rollins College in Florida.

Impressed with his “overall academic record, personal strengths and talents”, Rollins awarded him its presidential scholarship, valued at $96,000. “I really want to do something different, something that will expand my view of the world,” Matthew said.

He hopes to balance the accelerated management programme at the college’s Crummer Graduate School of Business with courses in anthropology as well as archaeology, telling MSA’s Fast Track magazine that he has “always had a passion for history and discovering the world’s earliest secrets”.

“I have no idea where this might take me, but I would like to be able to travel the world and be a part of a great adventure.”

Parents Anna and Christopher Brady instilled him with a rigorous work ethic, reflected in his induction into the National Honour Society — and the highest average in his grade for the past three years. Last year, he also co-captained the MSA Saints volleyball team.

An only child, Matthew’s departure for college means “a whole new experience” for his parents too.

And his future is an open book. A United States national, he also has the option of residing in Europe thanks to his Portuguese citizenship.

“When I was first looking at colleges, I was thinking I’d probably stay in the US. Recently it’s come to mind that I might want to come back to Bermuda for a few years.

“You never know. A lot of it depends on jobs. It’s like the citizenship I was born with ­— it’s all about using opportunities. They’re everywhere.”