Feature by: Hannah Austin Picture by: Lindsey Campbell
This story is a first of a three-part series about athletics and scholarships at Milligan College.
Four out of every 10 undergraduate students at Milligan College belong to one of Milligan’s intercollegiate sports. The influence of sports scholarships is shown through the experiences of two international students who have benefited from the aid, Jose Sanchez and Lucas Maia.
Sanchez, from Berlin, Germany, has dreamed of studying in the United States for some time. What eventually brought the dream to reality was the generosity of Milligan’s baseball coach Chris Gordon, who recruited Sanchez. Sanchez received enough scholarship to cover 70 percent of his tuition, enabling Sanchez to combine his baseball life with his school life.
“That’s a beautiful thing about American schools,” explains Sanchez, a first-semester human performance and exercise science major. “You build community with the team and with the school.”
Sanchez enjoys having the opportunity to study and play. Playing baseball at an American college has allowed him to get involved not only athletically but socially and academically as well.
“For me, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience,” he says, “ I just love the feeling that sport and school are interacting on a mutual level.”
Sanchez has gotten involved in small study groups where he has had the opportunity to interact with students besides the baseball team. He also signed up to participate in the annual Gotcha water tag game.
“I want to take advantage of the whole college feeling,” says Sanchez.
Sanchez say he is preparing himself to be ahead in both his schoolwork and in his work on the baseball field.
“It’s a serious program, but not only serious athletically but also academically,” he says about Milligan overall.
Lucas Maia, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was given the opportunity to study in the United States through a soccer scholarship.
The politeness of the soccer team’s coaching staff, the warmer weather of East Tennessee, compared to other U.S. schools, and the fact that Milligan is a faith-based institution were deciding factors for Maia, a sophomore communications major. Maia, like Sanchez, has a good impression of Milligan athletics.
“I think they’re very serious, they’re professional,” says Maia about the coaches and players involved.
Maia enjoys how hard work is central to the soccer program at Milligan. He is proud to be a part of a team that is serious and committed to playing well.
Both students have had positive experiences with Milligan athletics and would not have had the opportunity to study in the United States without some athletic scholarship.
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