Seth Martin, First-Year
Seth Martin: I’m from a small village called Attica, Ohio. Population is about 750, it was 751 until I came down here.
Aja: So how did you find out about Capital?
Seth: I was an ambassador from my high school to Buckeye Boys State, and Sarah Thompson had a Capital table there. How could you say ‘no’ to Sarah Thompson? So she was talking about Capital, and I was falling in love the more she was talking. Then I had a conversation with my guidance counselor, and I told her about three brief sentences about what I was looking for in a university, and that night I went home and opened up a letter from Capital…it was nearly verbatim what I had just told my guidance counselor.
Aja: Wow that’s amazing. Have there been any challenges transitioning to Capital?
Seth: I transitioned from high school to a more collegiate mindset my freshman year of high school. I was so done with high school. Oh, and the beds are a challenge here.
Aja: Tell me about the happiest moment in your life.
Seth: Most of the positive things in my life revolve around Capital. I competed in the Collegiate Fellowship competition, and I got a call from Capital one morning. I was still in bed. I didn’t answer. My admissions counselor left a voicemail saying she wanted to talk about my next steps, and I was like, ‘Oh great.’ She called again a couple hours later, so I answered it and a few words later she told me that I was one of the recipients of it. Mom nearly broke a hip celebrating. I ran out of water from crying…definitely the happiest moment in my life.
Aja: Wow, congratulations. How would you like to be remembered as a person?
Seth: The reason I chose Capital is because they never talked about, ‘We want to make sure you succeed and get good grades.’ If you come to Capital, you’re expected to do that. So I want to be remembered as someone who has the bigger picture in mind, rather than a small crisis. Someone who is action-oriented on the larger scale.
Aja: That’s really grownup of you. You seem to really do well in leadership positions.
Seth: Thanks, I really try to.
Shelby Meyerrose, First-Year
Shelby: I’m a nursing major. I don’t really know what I want to do, but I’m really excited for it because I can kind’of take it anywhere. I want to figure out what I want to do in clinicals, but I definitely want to do something that’s broad that I can do anywhere in the world. So I could do it on a mission trip, or I could do it in Columbus in a hospital.
Aja: That’s a good choice. What are you most proud of so far?
Shelby: I’m proud of the fact that I’m here at college, at Capital doing nursing and Young Life which are both things I didn’t anticipate doing. As a high school student, both of these things are not really things I set out to do. I didn’t decide nursing until the end of senior year, so I think I’m just really proud that I’m here, I’m starting my own journey and I’m setting roots here. I’m becoming my own person and making my own choices. I just have a lot of dreams for the future. I’m just really proud of that.
Aja: That’s something you should be proud of.
Shelby: I want people to know me as someone who is really happy and joyful always. I can reach out to all sorts of people, no matter how different we may be. I just want people to know they are loved.
Aja: What’s a lesson that you have learned throughout your journey?
Shelby: Don’t take things too seriously. In the beginning I was scared. I was used to my comfortable life at home. I had my friend group, and we all ran together. And when I came here I was totally thrown out of my comfort zone, but I realized you just have to take every situation and make it the best possible. It’s all about your outlook. If things don’t go your way just don’t take it too seriously. Does that make sense?
Aja: Yeah, that was really inspirational.
Shelby: Oh gosh, thank you.
