Vermont State University Castleton Graduate Student Marty Kelly III’s voice is well known at student activities events, from calling out numbers at Super Bingo to helping students with various SGA tasks. He took some time to answer questions about life, leadership, and what makes him tick.

Q. You’ve been a race car driver and an announcer for that world and more… In your childhood, who inspired you to get into that? What drove that passion home for you? Is there anyone, or multiple people, you can attest that revved up what you want to do in this lifetime? And as a person named Marty, how do you feel about time traveling in a DeLorean? Do you think we have the capacity to create something like a Flux Capacitor? 

A. Well for me, it was always my dad. He drove race cars from 1986-1999 and then sporadically in the mid 2000’s. I just thought that was awesome. We went to the races all the time and went into the pits after to look at the cars and talk to the drivers. We picked winners from our seats, we had a lot of fun. I used to sit in one of his old cars in the backyard and imagine myself winning and losing and wrecking and all that stuff. He’s the man, he’s helped me a ton. 

I hope we can travel back in time, someday. I don’t think that will ever happen, but you never know. I saw a guy who looked like Christopher Lloyd in Rutland just the other day, actually. 

Q. Is there anyone in particular in your world now that truly motivates and inspires you to be the best version of you, and why? Be specific. 

A. I’ve got some great friends, a great girlfriend, my wonderful parents and my older sister. And I’ve got the students and staff and faculty here and the other members of this community, I have some great advisors above me in Student Life here. Everybody helps me and drives me. I am a really lucky guy. 

Q. What brought you to Castleton all those years ago? What attracted you to this place? What about the home of the Green Mountain Spartans keeps you locked into being here?

A. I was 20 years old, at Hudson Valley Community College, about to earn my associate’s in automotive management. I just felt kinda empty, like there had to be something more to my education or that part of my life. I turned to the journalism and broadcasting work I was already doing in racing as a hobby and thought I should focus on that. I’ve always loved the village of Castleton. I have family in this area, so I spent a fair amount of time around here as a kid. As someone who hardly applied myself in high school or even my first three years of college with the automotive stuff, I finally became an academic here. I became a more social guy and appreciated all the different kinds of people I met. I made so many great friends. I think the world of this place, honestly. I never have had a bad day at Castleton. 

Q. As a Communications major, what words of wisdom could you offer for getting through those classes? 

A. Keep an open mind. It’s a great degree to go into a huge array of fields. Build your portfolio and know your strengths and weaknesses. Work in those bounds of the things you do well already and work on the rest when you can. 

Q. What would you like the student body to know about you? Do you have any odd pearls of knowledge for those that might be reading this? 

A. I’ve enjoyed working with the student body here so much, and I am so, so grateful for how they have responded to and received me. One “pearl” I always go back to is, be positive, smile, shake hands, make eye contact. Make as many connections as you can. It’s tough, I know. Just do your best with it. Eye contact, smiles and handshakes have done a lot for me. 

Q. While I know what you do for a job here at VTSU, could you fill in the readers about your role/position, and what you can do for them?

A. As the GA for Student Activities, I support and advise the Student Government Association. I work closely with the Campus Activities Board, and I can help you access requested and approved funds for official, recognized clubs, from a $50 Amazon purchase to booking a club trip that might cost a few thousand dollars.