By Jackson Decheck

In the driest dunes of the Sahara to the wettest beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, it is remarkable that every speck of sand is physically unique. It is just as if not more fascinating that every human being is unique as well.

The La Roche University student population is no exception.. Some would consider a large amount of humanity to be copy and pastes that only adopt the views of the majority. However, I believe differently—the students and faculty that walk La Roche’s hallways and dorms have their own distinct stories, their own perception of life and what it means.

Sean Simmons is one person who wears his heart on his sleeve. I remember my first encounter with Sean in the hall of Zappala going into CC Square.

He was wearing what I could only describe as the attire of the departed Hugh Hefner; blue bathrobe with khaki pants (thank goodness), a white shirt, and loafers—brown, if I recall correctly. To top it all off, Sean had a large gold crucifix on top of the bathrobe. 

To some, my description of Sean would appear to be gaudy, superficial, and arrogant on Sean’s part—but not to me. I saw that bathrobe, those loafers, and that crucifix and immediately thought: “This man has a story.”

And indeed he did, even at only nineteen years old. After I learned of his name, I also found out that he was the head of the History Club. Small it may be, that only piqued my interest more. Little snippets I received from others only added to his mystical nature of individuality. The more I learned, the more I felt like I had to gain knowledge directly from the source.

I was able to obtain an interview with him that seemed only a drop in the bucket. The following is a transcript of that interview.

Q: What made you decide to come to La Roche for college? 

A: It was close to home, only five minutes away, which was helpful. It was also a Catholic school, so I figured there was more of an order to it. That was a big driving reason to coming to La Roche, a really nice atmosphere that more secular and public universities don’t really have. 

Q: I know you started a History Club last Spring. Are you very interested in history?

A: Yes! It has taken more of a back seat due to classes, but I do have an interest in history and social studies in general. Pretty much anything that is under that umbrella, I look into. I believe history is number one because I believe it is taught the more out of any other subject. That’s why I am becoming a teacher for that so I can educate the kids of America.

Q: Have you always wanted to major in education?

A: Yes. I had a few other majors of interest during my middle and high school years, especially with my family having a medical background. I was debating about going into pre-med and pharmacology, but that ended up not happening. So the fork in the road was this: go to La Roche for Social Studies Education, or go to other schools for Environmental Science. La Roche won out in the end, but I have always been interested in education fueled by spite for bad teachers in my youth. I hope to bring energy and enthusiasm that I never got from other teachers and make learning fun!

Q: What other interests do you have?

A: For a while, I was beekeeping. It was fun, but I had to stop because I kept releasing hordes of male hornets. Oops! I love reading, mostly Shakespeare and biographies of historical empires and figures. I have also gotten into exercising recently. Gotta have strong bones. Fishing is another past-time in the summer and spring, usually semiweekly at a nearby lake where I live.

I have also been learning Russian. I have been fascinated by Russia for as long as I can remember, with it being a large portion of the map and how it hardly gets any attention in American education as opposed to other European countries. You would think our arch enemy for the past eighty years would be studied more, but nope. Anyways, I got fascinated by the country’s history and culture, and I saw it was on Duolingo, and I thought, “Gee willikers, that’s cool!” It looked cool with its own alphabet, 170 million people speak it, and the education system hardly talks about Russian history besides communism (he proceeded to make a scowl at the mention of communism). Borsch is my favorite word.

Q: To conclude our interview, is their anything you would like to say to our readers?

A: I would say…individualism; don’t take anything off of anyone; the whole system is an illusion; you’re a free person made in the image of God, and you should live that way because nobody rules over you except the Lord. I think you should live accordingly; we’re all equal, and God bless you and grant you many years!

___________

Sean Simmons is one in a trillion, a star in the night sky that is humanity. Every single one of us is special, our own unique set of stories, tenets, and abilities. I wish to capture just a glimpse from the beach and look at every sand grain that is the La Roche student body and faculty. Every one of us is formed from macro and microcosms of choices from over literal thousands of years, stories that are written into our families that I hope to hear and write for the whole school to read. We as a community are beautiful; but that is nothing compared to the beauty of a single person.

You are special. You are someone. And I would love to hear what makes you…you.

Thank you, Sean Simmons. You are a beekeeper, amateur historian, and soon-to-be history teacher. May God grant you many years.