Matthew’s love of the boarding school system first developed during his days as a student athlete at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT and subsequently St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

His experiences at both levels, which included an NCAA title at St. Lawrence before graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, created a deep appreciation of the emphasis placed on both academics and athletics throughout private boarding schools and universities.

After graduation, Kokoszka went on to teach and coach, paths that would alter his life. In his last five years working as a teacher and boys soccer coach at The Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, Kokoszka was able to recruit his own players. However, it was when he began working in the Admissions Department that Kokoszka truly understood the process full circle and realized there was a unique opportunity to create a company that combined the high level of athletics with placing students in boarding schools, a niche that was going unfulfilled.

In 2019 Kokoszka founded Global Education & Sports Partners (GESP), which is now co-owned by three people including GESP Vice President John Chiavaroli, a former high school soccer teammate and long-time friend. The company initially began with a focus on boys soccer as most of Kokoszka’s contacts were through the sport. Today, the company has expanded to encompass a wide variety of sports and is working with students in several regions throughout the world.

Many of the company’s clients hope to use the high level of education and athletics provided in boarding schools as a steppingstone to compete at the collegiate level, Kokoszka said. However, there are others who also attend boarding school in the United States for one year to learn English and create professional opportunities for themselves when they return home.

While there are several challenges that GESP encounters as facilitators for students to find the best school for them, Kokoszka indicated there is a lot of gratification in the end result.

“Once you look at everything together and what GESP is and what we’ve accomplished, some of the success stories are amazing. At the conference this past year some of the new schools and our old schools came up to me and John and they were just so complimentary of what GESP is, our staff, our partners from around the world and you really feel it when you’re at the conference,” Kokoszka said. “The schools and the partners that have been part of it for a long time once they get together it’s like family. We have so much fun, there’s a trust in each other and a love of working together.

“This is a business that’s built on relationships. Just to see and feel those relationships has been pretty special.”