Micah Stine ’26 knew from the time that she was in eighth grade that she wanted to join the military. Her brother had served in the military, and Stine saw it as a path to both interesting work and financial security.
“I came from an underprivileged home,” Stine explained. “I wanted to be able to get out, to start fresh. I wanted to be able to travel the world and have the benefits and opportunities that the military gives you.”
But Stine also wanted a college education and to be able to continue playing soccer. And it was the latter that led her to Bridgewater College in the summer of 2022. Stine was participating in a soccer recruiting camp and drew the attention of Michael Van Horn, Head Women’s Soccer Coach. Van Horn encouraged her to visit BC, where she found a community similar to where she grew up in Boonsboro, Md. She said she immediately felt at home.
“Small town Bridgewater is like small town Boonsboro,” Stine said.
Stine said she was also attracted by the small class sizes and the high-quality athletic facilities. And when she learned that Bridgewater has a partnership with nearby James Madison University’s U.S. Army ROTC program, all the pieces seemed to fall into place.
The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a four-year program that prepares college students to enter as commissioned officers in the U.S. Army upon completion of the program and their college degrees. It is one of the many high-impact learning programs that help BC students prepare for future careers. Stine completed her basic training with the U.S. Army this summer and hopes to join the Military Police Corps after graduation.
Skip Burzumato, Senior Instructor of Sociology and advisor for the leadership and community engagement minor at BC, said that participation in ROTC can teach students leadership and time management skills, as well as train them for a career of service and “being a part of something bigger than yourself.” Burzumato, one of Stine’s instructors and himself a military veteran, said that he’s been impressed with the perseverance and drive that he has seen from her.
Stine, a first-generation college student, is majoring in sociology with a minor in crime and justice and is in a leadership position with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In addition to her classes, soccer practices and games, she commutes to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., several times a week for early morning physical training and to take classes in military science. When asked how she juggles the competing demands of school, soccer and ROTC, Stine laughed and credited her coaches and professors for being flexible and the Bridgewater community for supporting her.
“I was blessed to be born with a good head on my shoulders,” she said. “My reason for being at Bridgewater is to pursue the career that I want. And having a really good support system has been really important.”
– Heather S. Cole
10/8/24
