On July 4th, 2025, Tennessee Congressman Mark Green resigned from his 4th term in Congress, subsequently prompting a special election on December 2, 2025.
The election took place between Republican nominee Matt Van Epps and Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn. In a victory, former Mentor High School student Matt Van Epps won the seat. He was sworn into office on December 4, 2025. He was later assigned to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
A Mentor High School graduate of the class of 2001, Representative Van Epps reflected on his time at MHS.
“I’m a proud graduate of Mentor High School—Go Fighting Cardinals!” Congressman Van Epps said.
Representative Van Epps also shared how Mentor High prepared him to become a member of Congress.
“The academics at Mentor High School were great,” Mr. Van Epps told Cardinal Nation. “The teachers were great; the administration was great. Fortunately, I also had very strong support from my parents. Neither of my parents went to college and so education was very important to them. They wanted to ensure that we went to college, so they really made us focus on academics.”
The Congressman was a member of MHS Student Council, National Honor Society, and played both baseball and football.
Following his graduation from Mentor, Representative Van Epps moved on to West Point, also known as the United States Military Academy (USMA). Rep. Van Epps gave credit to former Mentor football coach Mr. Trivisonno for helping to prepare him.
“The thing that stands out to me was the football program under Coach Trivisonno,” Van Epps says. “When I think back on it, getting up at 5 a.m. or earlier to work out started to set the grit and the toughness that I would need to move on to West Point.”
Congressman Van Epps also discussed his time in the U.S Army and West Point.
“I entered West Point in July of 2001, and then September 11th happened,” Rep. Van Epps says. “At that point, we all knew that we were going to war, and we were preparing to do that. I became interested in politics while at West Point and participated in the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, which brought me to Washington, D.C. multiple times.”
His time in the Army as an aviation officer led to him being awarded numerous honors, including the Air Medal with “V” device, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal. He now holds the title of lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee National Guard.
Becoming a member of Congress, Mr. Van Epps says his biggest inspiration was his father.
“My desire to serve goes back to my childhood—to my dad who was drafted to serve in Vietnam in 1965,” Representative Van Epps says. “He was an infantryman and tunnel rat. He had a very hard combat experience, suffered from severe post-traumatic stress his entire life, and unfortunately passed away in 2013 due to cancer from Agent Orange, which he was exposed to in Vietnam. As my brother and I got older and made our own decisions to serve, he started to share more of his experience with my brother and me. That was really impactful for me. It was one of the main reasons I decided to go to a service academy.”
The Congressman finished by saying, “Ultimately, it was a combination of love of country and that service aspect I got from my dad that planted a seed about service at a higher level, which eventually led me to Congress.”
He concluded by giving advice to the next generation of leaders.
“You’ve got to set bold and audacious goals,” Mr. Van Epps says. “My dad taught us from a very young age that goal setting was incredibly important. You should work on setting long-term goals to use as a waypoint. Then you’ve got to work really hard to achieve it. The path is going to change left and right, up and down, but when you have the waypoint, it helps you keep marching towards that goal…And you’ve got to learn and have mentors. It is important to have people who invest in you and then reinvest it in the next generation…By setting goals, being a team player, building strong teams, and then working really hard, you’ll accomplish those things that you set out to do—and I hope for some that might be public service!”
*Authors Note: I would like to extend many thanks to Kyrstina Skurk and Congressman Van Epps for their time and communication to make this article possible!
