That’s what it’s like being a triplet and pursuing your unique dreams for the first time on the Marshall University campus, and it’s the experience right now for Marshall students John, Madison and Zachary Apostolon, a trio from Wayne County, West Virginia, who are experiencing their first Marshall moments both together but also more independently from each other than they’ve ever been before.
“As far as individuality goes, we all have completely different personalities and completely different interests, and completely different career paths, at least that’s the way it’s looking right now,” said Zachary Apostolon, a freshman in Marshall’s Lewis College of Business. “But we’re the best of friends.”
Having been homeschooled, the triplets have spent most of their lives in each other’s company. That started to change last year, when Madison started college early. Now in her second year at Marshall, she’s deep into her studies in the communication disorders program and loving it. Brothers Zachary and John started college in the fall.
“This is probably the least amount of time we’ve spent together,” John said. “We see each other occasionally, but mainly we have been more independent of each other since coming to Marshall. It’s interesting. Since we have different classes and different experiences, we get to compare and contrast and see how things are different.”
Though Zachary decided to move to campus and Madison and John decided to commute, the 19-year-old siblings text, call and meet up on campus as often as they can.
“In crowded places where I don’t know anybody, I can always talk to Madison and John, and it’s always a great source of friendship, and I absolutely love them,” Zachary said.
They have some family history with Marshall. Their dad, Demetrius, attended, and their mom, Sherri, worked on campus for a while. Another bond they all share, passed down by their parents, is music. Madison plays violin and sings, John plays a little piano and sings, and Zachary plays guitar and writes music. They like to harmonize, John said.
“We’re kind of a musical family, so that’s definitely an important thing that brings us together and keeps us connected,” Madison said. “If we’re feeling distant, a song will come on in the car and we’ll sing together. That’s also a cool thing.”
Another aspect of their strong bond is that they know each other’s gifts and traits, and they’re quick to point out each other’s strengths.
Madison is described by her brothers as being sweet and big-hearted.
“My sister is a very kind, a very sweet person,” John said. “She likes talking to people and meeting people. She loves her major. She’s very into it. … She talks about it all the time and works very hard. She’s full of energy. She loves to sing and play violin as well.”
In Zachary’s words, “Madison is definitely kind-hearted, super caring.”
She received a first-place Maier Award from the Department of English for first-year research last year. She also participates in Cru (formerly known as Crusade for Christ), and she has chosen the perfect career path because she’s uplifting and encouraging, Zachary said.
“She loves talking to people, and her strengths really come from her heart,” Zachary said. “She genuinely cares about people, even after just meeting them.”
John, he described as very thoughtful and unique.
“You could think about something a thousand times and, once you talk to John, you get a completely different perspective on it,” Zachary said. “He’s an extremely thoughtful person. He thinks through everything and he’s willing to rethink through it.
“He’s not egotistical about an opinion. He’s always willing to shape how he thinks about things and get to the truth. He’s hungry for it. I don’t know how that will serve him in his life exactly – I’ve always wondered what kind of job he’s going to get.”
His sister described John as “kind, caring, a good listener, and very creative and musical.”
John is considering majoring in business or social work. He also has gotten involved in Christian organizations on campus and loves learning languages. He’s now learning Japanese, as well as Greek, which is part of his father’s heritage.
“I wanted to learn Greek for a few reasons: I like the way it sounds, my goal is to learn multiple languages, I have an interest in the translations from Greek to English in the New Testament, and lastly, since I am Greek, I thought it would be fun to learn the language,” John said.
Zachary, his siblings said, is the outgoing one. He loves intramural sports, as well as making music, which he said would be an amazing career. But he also enjoys business, having started small businesses even during high school, doing everything form graphic design and photography to selling T-shirts, website development and managing social media.
“So (majoring in) business in general was kind of a no-brainer,” he said, adding that working for an investment firm and educating people about investments seems like a fantastic career path as well. In the meantime, he plays music in the dorms and on campus with friends and would love to write and record his own album.
Madison described Zachary as “ambitious, charismatic, good at marketing anything to anyone, athletic, musical and confident.”
“I sometimes say he is social anxiety’s worst enemy,” John said. “When he wants to do something, he isn’t afraid to pursue it. He’s very, very funny. He’s comedic and creative.”
Having two siblings on campus means you not only have two people who are there for you, but it’s also a great way to meet more people, John said.
“You know a lot of people because they know your siblings,” John said.
For Madison, it was a good learning experience to start on campus earlier than her brothers, but it’s also great now, to be going through the college adventure with them in the same orbit.
“We are best friends,” Madison said. “I think now that we’ve gotten older, we’re just closer. I don’t know if it’s a triplet thing, but we’re just very close to each other.
“We also have a way of knowing, kind of, what each other are thinking because we know each other so well,” she said. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s cool, like telepathy.”
It’s great knowing they can always talk with each other, help each other with school and get together for different activities around campus, Zachary said.
“We can make each other mad and stuff, but to know that we have two other people with us, pretty much forever, it’s great, honestly,” he said.
“We’re locked in for life.”
