Robert Sellar is a second year International Relations student, originally from Dublin, Ireland. As a good friend of mine from halls I was pleased to have the chance to catch up with this charming Irishman.
I began by asking Rob why he decided to come to St Andrews. ‘I came to visit in my fourth year of school (year 10 for English students) because my older sister was looking at universities.’ He went on to tell me that instead of attending an IR tour, as advised by his mum, he went to the St Andrews aquarium and naturally fell instantly in love with this small town. He received his St Andrews offer last of all, and ‘was pretty delighted!’ He then added that, like everyone else, he had also come to St Andrews to find his Kate Middleton (/Prince William).
A keen sportsman, Rob told me he ‘tries to play hockey’, a modest response from a guy who plays up front for the first XI. He is also involved in ‘Christians in Sport’, an organisation that helps Christians to live out their faith in sports clubs and teams, and he has previously helped to host events for the “Play, Pray, Say Group”.
For all the ladies who have been wondering up to this point, Rob is single (‘and has been for most of his life’). When finding the perfect partner, he looks for the whole package. ‘They need to be funny, down-to-earth, outgoing and spontaneous.’ Personality triumphs over looks for him ‘but looks help’.
I asked Rob if he had any hidden talents, to which he responded ‘I can drink through my nose’. He went on to tell me that he used to play the cello and his biggest regret was dropping it, having watched School of Rock and been inspired to take up electric guitar, but unfortunately ‘I wasn’t any good at it’.
Rob had a host of answers ready for me when I quizzed him on his most memorable moment so far in St Andrews. Ever the practical joker, they included catching a hedgehog and releasing it into my room in the middle of the night (!) and setting off fireworks in the University Hall foyer to celebrate the end of first year. ‘They were a Christmas gift and we wanted to set them off after exams, we put them in a pizza box and didn’t anticipate that it would catch on fire…’.
‘I always wanted to be a policeman’ Rob told me when I asked him if he had plans for the future, ‘but now I’m not so sure’. He did some work experience in the police department and had a blast, and continues, ‘There would be plenty for me to do in Northern Ireland.’ If not, Rob’s interested in working with a charity, potentially in another country, leading seamlessly into my next question about his summer travels. ‘I had my first ever paid job serving the Great British public at a filling station on the North Coast of Ireland.’ His responsibilities ranged from serving ice creams and stacking shelves to selling cigarettes and filling up cars. ‘It was good craic! A job can be what you make of it and I went in and had fun.’ This paid for Rob to travel to South Africa with an organisation called WEC International, which specialises in children’s mission. Whilst out there he stayed in a township, which was ‘not exactly a slum, but a neglected area’, where he went into schools to give assemblies and helped out at after school clubs feeding disadvantaged children. Is this guy too good to be true?
Rapid fire round
Favourite place to have a drink:
‘I haven’t been to the new St Andrews Brewery but it looks good!’ otherwise he’d go for Drouthy Neebors or The Criterion.
Favourite place to eat:
‘The Adamson’ he tells me without hesitation, but then quickly adds that it depends on who’s paying and perhaps only if his parents were up visiting!
Biggest fear:
He’s afraid of missing out and letting people down. He also has a fear of being left behind, which was worse as a kid when he would ‘literally be in tears’ if his mum was even half an hour late to pick him up. Bless him.
Little known fact about you:
‘I profusely perspire in my facial region when I consume sour sweets like haribo tangfastics.’ This is a real shame, since he loves them and on a hockey tour he was forced to finish three bags by the end of which his face was dripping.
I closed the interview by asking Rob if he had any final words. “As Casanova once said ‘one who makes no mistakes makes nothing at all.’ You need to be adventurous and test the waters.”