The impact of Millsaps College on Carson Marshall is evident.
Following his transfer to Millsaps from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 2019, Marshall describes his most impactful moment as the discovery of his passion and the college equipping him with the resources to pursue that passion.
“While my Millsaps experience has helped refine my discipline, communication and leadership skills,” he said, “perhaps the most beneficial impact is the way Millsaps has taught and encouraged me to think critically and deeply about a variety of topics while still keeping my feet on the ground to see how these ideas impact those around me.”
Originally from Tryon, North Carolina, a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Marshall is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2022 with degrees in religious studies and philosophy.
With plans to pursue a career in ministry, Marshall has been actively involved in the faith community on campus as a member of the Millsaps chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and as an intern for The Rev. Dr. Joey Shelton, dean of the chapel and director of church relations at the college.
He acknowledges Shelton as a favorite professor and the teacher of his favorite class, “Race and American Christianity through a Wesleyan Lens: Hypocrisy and Hope.”
The class, Marshall shared, “challenged me to see how systems of biblical interpretation have real effects on real people in the past and the legacy it carries in cities like Jackson today.”
Shelton has equal praise for Marshall.
“He is quick to share in laughter, is thoughtful, caring, a lover of people and of learning and he is very disciplined,” Shelton said. “His personhood exudes a spirit of grace-filled hospitality and energy. From the classroom to the cafeteria to soccer competition, he embodies ad excellentiam.”
Outside of classes and his work with Shelton, Marshall is a captain of the Millsaps men’s soccer team and also involved in the Millsaps International Buddy System (MIBS).