In a Nutshell

       I come from a Roman Catholic family in a town called Urbana, Ohio.  The town, although no Columbus or Dayton, is important nonetheless in the way it has shaped me.  Urbana used to be a big farming community, but slowly the city has expanded into the countryside, prompting businesses such as Super-Wal-Mart and Bob Evans to want to move in.  The High school that I went to was about the coolest high school possible.  The high school I went to was unique and beautiful, and I will remember it always.  I went to Urbana High school and the building itself was nicknamed “the castle.”  That’s right; I went to high school in a castle.  Sure it was old and in need of air-conditioning, but it was the best I could have asked for.  The “castle” is situated on a hill, which seems out of place in little old Urbana, and at the base of the hill is the football field.  Our mascot was a “Hillclimber” named “Sparky.”  Of course the hill wasn’t a mountain of any sort, but it was definitely a majestic hill.  The best part of the hill occurred at graduation.  Your reward for all those years of hard work was a walk down that very hill with your classmates and seated on the football field.  Thinking back on it, I can remember the pride I felt when I flipped my tassel from one side to the other looking at the looming castle before me and thinking of the setting sun, not as a metaphor for the end, but a quick rest before my future at U.D. would begin.

       I held my own place in High school.  We, like any other school, had a category for everyone, except for me.  I seemed to be the exception to the rule.  I knew everyone at school and got along with everyone from top to the bottom of the popularity scale.  I was the smart kid at school, but I was also involved as well.  I did everything from Marching Band, to choir, to musicals, to chess club, to National Honor Society, and the list continues.  Anything that wasn’t a sport, I seemed to be in it, and with the growth of the list of activities, was the list of friends.  I had a tight group of about seven friends I could call best friends, but I got along with everyone.  I remember coming in as a freshman, hoping high school would pass quickly, and now I remember the last weeks of my senior year wondering where it all went.  During the summer of my Junior and Senior year I interned in the Champaign County Prosecutor’s Office under prosecutor Nick Selvaggio.  Taking in a junior in high school wasn’t his usual style, but he saw something in me that was different, he and his staff decided to give me a try.  That first year I showed them what I could do, from job shadowing to research, and of course the dreaded running of errands.  By the end of the year, they asked me to come back the following summer.  I did and learned so much more.  Last year I did everything from updating of criminal records, to issuing search warrants, to creating a report on Court Ordered Restitution, in collaboration with our Victim Advocate, on the topic of court ordered restitution.  This report was later presented to the Attorney General of the State of Ohio.  My experiences are vast, and truly I am a man of many talents and experiences with a sense of humor on the side.  If there is more about me that you want to know, then come find me and I’ll bring you up to date on the adventurous life of Charles Rittenhouse.