Matthew LaClair stood up for religious freedom and separation of church and state in the face of opposition and ridicule from school administrators and from his fellow students. During his junior year in high school, Matthew had a history teacher who promoted creationism and other personal religious beliefs in the classroom. When Matthew confronted the teacher and asked the school officials to address this, he became the target of harassment and even a death threat from fellow students. Despite this opposition, Matthew worked to make sure that the First Amendment is respected and upheld at his high school.