Myles Schmidt '24, Undecided
Myles Schmidt ‘24 was born in Connecticut, but his missionary parents felt the call to travel to Taichung, Taiwan. He has lived there for the last fifteen years, attending a Christian school and occasionally visiting his grandparents in the U.S. It was a step outside of his comfort zone to travel across the world to attend college, but he is glad for the growth that came with it.
“My faith in God is an area of my life where I wanted to continue to grow,” Schmidt said. “I decided to go where I felt most welcome and where would be the best fit for me, so I chose Malone.”
The warm welcome from his future soccer coach, teammates, the admissions staff, and a few connections with family friends at Malone ultimately guided Schmidt’s college decision.
“Finding a church here was one of my biggest priorities,” he said. “Attending church with different people each week has helped me to branch out. It’s spiritually refreshing to worship with others and be in a community.”
Schmidt led worship and taught a children’s class at his small home church in Taiwan. Speakers with different backgrounds and nationalities visited weekly, something that made him appreciate the unorthodox childhood that he used to take for granted. Learning from a variety of speakers he encountered prepared him well for the college environment.
“The community here has helped me adjust to the college routine and I appreciate God putting the right people in my life,” Schmidt said. “I still have a lot to process about being in a whole different country after growing up in Taiwan.”
Many things are different in the country where he grew up: there is more public transportation, multiple languages, and unchanging, warm weather exists all year round. While it has been difficult to be thousands of miles away from his family and new to some parts of American culture, Schmidt hopes to invest in his future at Malone as he pursues his many passions and ultimately chooses his best course of study.
“What I want to study has changed a lot,” Schmidt said. “I enjoy one on one personal relationships and I think academic counseling sounds interesting for a career. I have been praying that God will show me my next steps as I prepare to choose a career path. I don’t want to rush my choice and want to listen to His voice.”
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