If you’ve been to Gelato Fiasco during the last few summers, you’ve no doubt noticed the cheerful young blond man serving up gelato to happy customers. This past summer, for example, he was working there 60-70 hours a week. “It’s a good place to work,” says Nick Mathieu of Topsham, “because I like to talk to people.”

When not working at Gelato Fiasco this past summer, Nick spent his mornings teaching tennis and tutoring math. Nick, who needs only four or five hours of sleep a night, says he’s always had lots of energy, always been on the move.

Some readers will recall that Nick was a standout tennis player while playing for Mt. Ararat High School. He was a two-time Maine high school tennis champion; named KVAC player of the year four times; and named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year twice.

Nick began playing tennis when he was eight years old, as his dad would take him to Maine Pines three or four times a week before school. He entered his first tournament at age nine and, in his words, “I lost horribly.” In fact, he says he didn’t get by the first round in his first 37 tournaments. “There were a lot of long tearful rides home,” he recalls. “But I didn’t give up; I just wanted to get better.” And get better he did!

Nick spent a year at Colby Sawyer College in New Hampshire intending to major in business. He performed well in the classroom and on the tennis court, but he got a fortune cookie that said he needed to make a big change. The message confirmed his underlying sense that he needed to change his focus.

He decided to transfer to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts because of the opportunity to engage in scientific research related to diseases. The change in plans arose in response to his grandmother’s illness. She had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which affected her vision as well as her ability to walk, speak and swallow.

In addition to being a standout for the tennis team at Clark, Nick excelled in the classroom. A biochemistry major, he compiled a 3.82 grade point average, and co-authored articles published in peer-reviewed journals. (e.g. “HERC5 and the ISGylation Pathway: Critical Modulators of the Antiviral Immune Response.”_

This fall, Nick will begin a PhD program in biochemistry at Western Ontario University in Canada. He will work on solving the structure of a protein that ties into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Nick credits his mother for helping him develop good interpersonal skills and both parents for making him what he is today. He was reluctant to answer the “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” question, but he hints that owning a company doing research on drugs is one possibility.

He did note that young people need to get off their devices and get out there and socialize. He would tell them. “Don’t just say, ‘I want to be a doctor or a lawyer.’ Make sure you’re really doing what you want to be doing.”

Nick Mathieu has made his own mark at a young age by doing what he wants to be doing. This 22-year-old is a true triple threat: great with people, great at tennis, great at using his fine mind to make a difference in the world. Let’s call it game, set, match.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com. (David’s latest book co-authored with Anneka Williams, who graduated from Bowdoin College this past May, is entitled, “A Flash Fiction Exchange Between Methuselah and the Maiden: Sixty Stories to While Away the Hours,” is available at Gulf of Maine books (Brunswick), Mockingbird Books (Bath), Longfellow Books (Portland), Paul’s Marina (Brunswick), the Bowdoin Bookstore or on Amazon.)

This column was updated at 11:40 a.m. Sept. 3, 2021 to correct the spelling of “Mathieu.”