“I see the military as my mission field,” says Michael Wenzel, a senior at the University of Mobile and recipient of the prestigious national ROTC George C. Marshall Award.
A kinesiology major in the School of Health and Sports Science with a minor in military science, Wenzel will be commissioned upon graduation in May with the rank of 2nd LT in the U.S. Army. Wenzel begins his 10-year commitment in the aviation branch, where he will train to fly Army helicopters.
The George C. Marshall Award, which was first given in 1978, goes to the top cadet of the 273 ROTC programs across the nation. According to his professor of military science, LTC Jared Sunsdahl, Wenzel received this award “not only because of how he excels as a scholar, athlete, and leader, but also because he has extreme dedication, which goes a long way for a cadet.”
Wenzel is also a Distinguished Military Graduate, an honor given to the top 10 percent of the 5,000 senior cadets across the nation.
The George C. Marshall Award is an incredible honor for any cadet to receive.
“This award culminates all of the aspects of what the cadet has done throughout his four years. During that time, they train you and test you in the attributes and competencies of what an officer should look like in the army,” Wenzel says.
As a freshman in college, Michael Wenzel came to the University of Mobile with the sole intentions of playing soccer, remaining close to home and being involved in ROTC. However, the Lord had a very different plan.
Wenzel says looking back that “even though I was not saved, the Lord was definitely working in my life in so many ways through all of the opportunities that were given to me.”
Through the church community around UM and friends who were invested in his spiritual walk with the Lord, Wenzel came to faith in Jesus during the first semester of his freshman year.
Wenzel has grown spiritually because of the environment on campus as well as the faculty and staff who have poured into him over the course of his time at UM.
“The faculty and my friends were openly spreading the gospel with me, and my curiosity and interests shifted into wanting to understand more about this life-changing decision,” he says. Throughout his four years at UM and especially during his first semester, Wenzel was able to learn more about who God is and the transformation that He would have in his life.
Wenzel attributes all that he has learned and the ways that he has grown spiritually to the circumstances and people that he has met while being a student at the University of Mobile.
“All of the opportunities that the Gospel has been presented, it’s always been a motivation and a blessing to be part of it and to witness it all. It would feel different if I didn’t have this community as a Christian,” he says.
Throughout the coming years in the aviation branch and beyond, Michael Wenzel is looking forward to being a light and a leader to everyone that he encounters.
“I see the military as my mission field, and I want to make the most of that in every way that I can,” he says.
Molly Grace Watkins is the Content Creator for the Office for Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Mobile. She is a full-time student in the College of Arts and Sciences, where she is pursuing a degree in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and Broadcasting. A published author, Molly Grace loves writing and being in front of the camera. She is an active member and volunteer at Cottage Hill Baptist Church. She also enjoys listening to music, going on long walks and driving her friends around in her blue MINI Cooper.