As WVU Tech’s Michael Powell prepares to graduate with his degree in Civil Engineering, Michael looks back on his 4 years of college in terms of his experience, education, scholarship and sport.
Experience
Michael’s overall college experience has been second to none. Developing friendships with team mates from around the world, having the opportunity to travel around the US not only, in his leisure, but with soccer games, to being inducted into one of the most prestigious Engineering societies, just to name a few of Michael’s greatest experiences.
Traveling for up to 12 hours for soccer games across the country has given Michael a unique insight into the hidden sights throughout the US.
“…you just don’t have the opportunity to travel across the country if you are playing for a club in Australia…”
All of this time spent with his team mates, has allowed Michael to form some strong friendships with his team mates “…we have around 20 countries represented…one of the best things about my experience here has been that I have had the opportunity to meet all of these people…Being part of a soccer team, you live, train, study and travel together. You become friends on a different level…”
In his first year, Michael shares his experience with his first roommate from Germany “…he was only supposed to be at the college for a few semesters but ended up living with me for the year… we’ve become really great friends, he is still one of my best friends and we talk every few days. Spent new years with him…”
Currently, Michael is living with his room mate from Tennessee and goes on to share their spring break plans of heading on a road trip across the US.
As an international student on an athletic and academic scholarship, it is compulsory to live on campus. Living on campus has allowed college to become a lifestyle for Michael which has been a great alternative to a 9am-5pm university lifestyle that he would be going through, had he chosen the Australian Tertiary pathway.
Living and operating within such a multicultural college has resulted in Michael making lifelong friends from over 20 countries all over the world. Michael shares that he has made a pact to “…catch up every few years…” with his closest friends from college.
It is evident that college has become a lifestyle choice for many international student-athletes. This is due to the constant contact with team mates, roommates and peers around the college.
Sport
Michael states that the level of play in the US is comparable to the state teams here in Australia and shares his words of advice for athletes looking at attending Division 1 schools.
“…For those athletes looking to come across (to the U.S), there’s a common misconception amongst athletes regarding Division 1 schools. Division 1 gets the best reputation as they are generally the bigger schools with the most money but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best teams. Yes, it is true, they generally have a lot of great facilities but they have a limited amount of international positions available. Compare this with an NAIA school where there is there’s a lot less restrictions with the number of athletes that can come onto the team… Generally, you’ll find a great team is comprised of a number of different nationalities.”
While Michael did achieve some great success on the field, he believed that soccer was his pathway to obtain a U.S college degree.
Education
It was evident whilst speaking to Michael that his real passion lies with “…I’ve always been interested in the idea of putting things together…I enjoyed science and math in high school…”
It only made sense for Michael to attend a 4-year institution to obtain his Degree in Engineering. After receiving multiple offers with a number of two year institutions within the U.S, Michael received an offer from WVU Tech.
Since attending the College, WVU Tech has been ranked as one of America’s top education institutions and currently stands at number 6 investment within the U.S. Michael gives credit to his professors and small class sizes which have allowed him to remain within the top two students in his engineering course.
Michael shares his interesting insight into the importance of obtaining a degree to accompany your passion for sport
“…Unless you’re planning on becoming a professional sporting athlete and you are at a level where you think that you would have this opportunity it is essential…If that doesn’t work out (your professional sporting career), you still have a degree behind you and that’s the great thing about the US system…Sporting gives athletes the chance to obtain scholarship and pursue a degree that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.”
Find out more about WVU Tech’s education rank here
Scholarship
Michael entered the US with a 2k sporting scholarship and obtained an additional 8k in academic scholarship as his qualification was considered a STEM degree. Throughout his time in college, Michael’s sporting scholarship rose to around 5k by his 4th year of university “…coach put a lot of emphasis on improving and maintaining a good grade point average (GPA), every semester the coach would increase my scholarship as I managed to maintain a GPA over 3.0…”
Throughout his time at WVU Tech, Michael had multiple opportunities to obtain additional scholarship, stating that by the time his scholarship was accounted for, his room and board expenses were his biggest expense at college. “…There was always the opportunity to reduce your food and board costs by taking on a Resident Assistant (RA) position…becoming an RA would cover your room and board costs…”
US collegiate system provides constant opportunities for student athletes to decrease their tuition costs through obtaining scholarship in more than one area of their education.
What does the future look like for Michael?
After graduation Michael will be taking on a post graduate position in one of the world’s largest Engineering firms. As Michael has finished a STEM degree, he has the opportunity to extend his visa for an extra year. After this, Michael will be transferred onto an OPT visa which is valid for a total of one year. The firm has locations around the world, allowing Michael to travel around the world for work and possibly catch up with a few friends after college. Ultimately, Michael is contemplating his return to Australia; however, it is evident that he has a great deal of world travelling to do before he settles!!
NSR congratulates Michael on his graduation and looks forward to checking in with him as he begins his post graduate position!
