Instead of slacking off in his senior year at West Lutheran High School in Plymouth, Greyson St. Martin is taking on new challenges.
Tuesday night, the trumpeter performed a "Phantom of the Opera" medley with his fellow band mates at a concert at school. Not bad, considering he was a percussionist until a few weeks ago.
“This year I started off doing percussion for about a week and then I noticed that, well, there's eight percussionists in a 25 people band; so it didn't really make sense to have that many percussionists,” said St. Martin. “So I switched over to doing trumpet.”
By now, you can probably guess Greyson is usually willing to try something new. In sports, it’s the same story.
“Freshman year I did basketball and golf,” he recalled. “The next year I did soccer, basketball and baseball.”
While most upperclassmen look forward to being experts on their sports team, Greyson went back to being the underdog, tackling football for the first time senior year.
“I don't see it as a sacrifice,” said Greyson. “I see it as just another experience and having fun.”
There’s no shortage of that, whether he’s touring local churches with the concert choir, getting into character for a school play or leading a cheer at a volleyball game. He’s also student council president, as well as a member of the National Honor Society.
Teachers told 12 News his hunger for a challenge, coupled with his academic achievement, make him a natural leader.
“He's an excellent role model in the things he does,” said Greyson’s physics teacher and football coach, Adam Wiechmann. “He just has a positive influence on everything that and every person he interacts with.”
Many say his experiences here will take him far. The long-time member of the mock trial team wants to pursue a law career.
“He's not afraid to take on a challenge,” said Wiechmann. “He's not afraid to stand up for what's right. And he's just so comfortable in front of other people. You can tell that, the way that he acts; so I think he'd be fantastic in law.”
For now, Greyson is focused on being the best trumpet-playing, singing, acting, student multi-sport athlete he can be.
Renee Banot
rbanot@twelve.tv
October 18, 2012