12 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN in the late 1990s, early 2000s, Matt Salvaterra ’03 was synonymous with football. Look no further than the bobblehead the university had created in his likeness—the only one ever made for football and one of four ever made for any sport at the university—for evidence of his popularity in the Lehigh community. The four-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll was the first-ever two-time captain in Lehigh’s modern history. His list of accomplishments also include 2002 Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year—one of only four Mountain Hawks to ever receive the award—and All-Patriot League twice. Not only was Salvaterra a member of three Patriot League Championship teams, but the squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice during his time at the school. Today, Salvaterra is still making his impact felt on the field—just not one that football is played on. With his wife, Jessica, he established and operates Salvaterra’s Gardens, a certified organic farm growing over 100 different types of vegetables on their 10-acre property in Longswamp Township, Pennsylvania. Inspired by an 1800s Parisian style of gardening, he makes the most of the farm’s relatively small footprint. Salvaterra operates a farmer’s stand on the premises, about 40 minutes southwest of Goodman Stadium, and another at the Easton Farmers’ Market, and he sells wholesale, to local restaurant owners and shares of CSA (community supported agriculture). Salvaterra says he never thought gardening would turn into a career that now supports his family of four. He never even envisioned it as a hobby, which is how it started. “I thought I would be coaching football,” Salvaterra says with a chuckle. Yet there are no reminders to Salvaterra’s Gardens’ visitors of his playing days. No evidence of his interest in football, which still remains. He says he doesn’t even own the bobblehead Lehigh made in his likeness and handed out to the first 1,000 fans who attended a Nov. 16, 2003, contest against Bucknell. Only if you broach the topic will you learn of his love of sports—he admits he could talk about sports, including Lehigh football, all day. But to Salvaterra, his current lifestyle reminds him of his football days. It’s one of the reasons he believes he enjoys it so much. “This fits my personality,” Salvaterra says. “It mimics a lot of things football was, like where you’re on a schedule. There’s a goal. I’m competitive, so there’s competition because you own a business. In your head, you think, ‘If I work harder than everybody else,…’ you know it's that kind of thing, so it fits [the football mindset].” at LEHIGH
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