Rising Sophomore Lets His Intellect Run Wild
Generation Georgia State: Micah Costello
Story By Clynton Namuo and Video By Alex Kreuter
Georgia State University is Micah Costello’s geek playground.
“This is one of the very few colleges in Georgia where you can take Russian and Arabic and Chinese,” he says. “That’s just a microcosm of all the things you can take here. Georgia State has given me the opportunity to broaden myself as a person.”
Micah is the first person in his family to attend college. That means neither he nor his parents have any preconceived notions about what he’ll do or learn.
“My parents, not knowing about college, they’re just enthusiastic about me being here,” he says. “They don’t have an aversion to a philosophy class or a preference for me to take accounting.”
As a result, he’s studying everything he can. Micah, who just finished his freshman year, is torn between majoring in philosophy, English or French. He says each subject offers him the opportunity to let his intellect run wild.
“It’s a free thinking class and what’s more fun than that,” he says of philosophy. “You’re learning, but at the same time you get to pull stuff out of your head.”
French has been a passion of Micah’s since high school, but until he got to Georgia State he never found many likeminded people. He works on his fluency regularly at the Franco-Branchés, the university’s French club.
“In high school we had a French club, but everybody there ate croissants and talked about how much they didn’t like French,” he says.
French Professor Kathleen Doig said Micah has distinguished himself with his robust intelligence, good manners and ability to interact with other students in French.
“As a veteran of 42 years in the classroom, I have learned to detect fairly quickly whether students are connecting to what I am trying to teach them,” she says. “Micah is the kind of student who hears a word and then uses it in a composition weeks later.”
No matter what major he chooses, Micah says his life will never be the same.
Although Micah grew up in Hapeville, Ga., just a MARTA ride away from downtown Atlanta, he never really experienced the city until he got to Georgia State.
Since arriving on campus he has eaten crab legs and Vietnamese pho noodle soup for the first time and jammed on his guitar with a friend he made at the dorm. He is embarking on his first trip abroad to study in France this summer.
“I think going to France is mind boggling,” he says. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I actually hope to have like 17 times.”
This article is part of Generation Georgia State, a series that highlights the academic, personal and career accomplishments of Georgia State University students, alumni, faculty and staff who are the first in their families to attend college.
