About Me

My name is Matteo Bender and I am pursuing my dream of becoming a Sports Photographer at Iowa State University where I work as a Photojournalist for the Iowa State Daily. I have been pursuing photography as a career for over 3 years and am very excited to get better every day.

I am very happy and proud to come from a Costa Rican-Guatemalan family. My mother lived in Costa Rica until she was 15 and my father is from Guatemala as well. I have not been able to visit Costa Rica yet but it is definitely on my to-do list.

Alongside shooting for the Iowa State Daily, I am also enrolled at Iowa State University. I am currently studying Journalism and Mass Communication to better my skills as a photographer and journalist, otherwise known as a “photojournalist".” I am very happy and grateful to have the ability to shoot for the Iowa State Daily and work on my craft as a Sports Photographer.

When I am not working at events, you can probably find me either at home playing video games or walking around taking photos while listening to music. I almost always have my AirPods in, even while at some sporting events.