For Peyton Specht, being a student-athlete at Ohio Northern University has been “the greatest four years a kid from northwest Indiana could ask for.”
Peyton has been racking up wins in the classroom, on the court, and in his personal and professional life.
When he graduates in May 2025, he’ll depart ONU with degrees in civil engineering and business management, lifelong friends, and special memories.
Peyton, a graduate of Munster High School (Munster, Ind.), came to ONU because he wanted to attend a smaller university and play tennis.
“I’ve always been super interested in math and infrastructure. As a kid, I was curious about how things were built. I have an older sister who is a civil engineer, so her influence helped me narrow down the field of engineering I wanted to study.”
Tennis is a family tradition, and Peyton has played the sport since age 9. At ONU, he can compete at a high level while maintaining a focus on academics, he said.
He’s captain of the men’s tennis team and helped lead his team to three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships in the past three years.
“I clinched the winning point for the team each year.”
Peyton is also president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. It’s his favorite student organization because he gets to build relationships with athletes and coaches from every sport.
In the College of Engineering, Peyton has obtained real-world experience and perspective through projects, guest speakers, and internships at the Walsh Group and Strand Associates, Inc. After graduation, he’d like to work for a design firm and focus on water resources.
“Playing tennis and studying civil engineering at ONU is a dream come true. My family, friends, coaches, and ONU faculty continue to inspire me to keep striving and ‘get 1% better at something every day.’”