Story by Matt Taylor
Photos courtesy of Michigan Tech
Not many students can say they had a full college experience like fifth year cross country/track & field student-athlete and Cadet in the professional officer portion of the AFROTC experience Nick McKenzie. Similarly, not many can say that Michigan Technological University had everything they were looking for like McKenzie, who is now in his last semester of school before starting a new chapter in the Space Force, something that only three others from MTU’s AFROTC have done.
However, the Dexter, Michigan, native didn’t have a traditional path to the Space Force.
“I didn’t do any ROTC in high school and I wasn’t really exposed to it growing up either,” McKenzie explained. “Other than a grandpa in the Navy and a close uncle who was in the Marines.
“It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that I heard what this AFROTC thing was about,” he added. “I thought maybe it was something that I could look into and it could be an interesting way to go about going to college.”
At the time McKenzie knew he was looking to pursue a degree in electrical engineering along with continuing his running career in college.
Although he wasn’t the first person in his family to hear about Michigan Tech, as his dad, Dave, went to Tech in the 1980’s to be the first in his line of family to get a college degree, earning a degree in environmental engineering. His dad always spoke highly of Michigan Tech growing up, which may have played a part in McKenzie going to Tech.
Fast forward to McKenzie’s junior year and he had already begun looking into AFROTC more seriously.
McKenzie said: “That’s when I kind of really zoned in on Michigan Tech and said, ‘I want to go to this school and in parallel looking at okay, can I run here? Is that an option? Then, with AFROTC and the Air Force – would this be a good place for me to pursue that option with the military’? So when I visited Tech, I visited the AFROTC department and it was really interesting – it had me pretty fired up to go forward with it.”
That visit just about made up his mind about attending Michigan Tech.
“Michigan Tech was the only option that I had in mind,” he mentioned. “So this was the only school I ever visited, the only school I ever applied to and it just worked out really well where this was a Division II program that I was able to run at with a team that I was interested in being part of. They had the academic program that I was interested in pursuing with electrical engineering and they had the Air Force ROTC program.”
McKenzie’s visit answered a lot of questions and led him to the decision to apply for the High School Scholarship Program his senior year which is offered for students entering college and participating in Air Force ROTC. The process included an interview, fitness test and submitting SAT/GPA to compete for it.
Once he got it, his college decision was made up.
“I really wanted to pursue that option with the Air Force and it really came together where I was able to run in addition to those things,” he explained. “Going to the school that I was really interested in – having this Air Force program and then being able to run on the cross country and track team. So that’s kind of the journey of finding the right match.”
When McKenzie first arrived at Michigan Tech the AFROTC had about 90 cadets; these days the cast is closer to 50 cadets, fluctuating yearly depending on the Air Forces needs.
“It’s a pretty tight knit community,” McKenzie mentioned. “It’s considered to be a medium detachment student-wise so we get to know each other a lot better that way.”
His role in the AFROTC changes each semester whether it’s leading the physical fitness training or being the Vice Wing Commander, helping run the whole show.
“Nick has exhibited himself as a strong leader from day one in my new role as Air Force ROTC Detachment Commander and Department Chair,” said Lt. Col., USAF Commander, AFROTC Detachment 400 Ben P. Zuniga. “He had been selected as the Cadet Wing Vice Commander, the second-highest leadership position within the organization. He led and orchestrated over the semester for 65 cadets extremely well. Over the course of the many other situations that I’ve known Nick, his unique character traits include a very keen attention to detail while managing both small and larger groups of people with level-headed maturity.”
Last spring, McKenzie was a Squadron Commander for the operations squadron – where he was responsible for putting on different activities for leadership laboratory on Tuesdays. One of the most visible training events McKenzie was responsible for was leading the campus marching event.
“I was in charge of leading a group of 12 people total, with younger and older cadets and I had a great experience mentoring younger cadets and being able to apply myself being in a more visible leadership position,” he said.
Through his collegiate career, McKenzie has been able to bridge the gap between being a leader in AFROTC along with being a leader on the cross country/track & field teams.
“It’s kind of funny how they play off of each other because obviously, the AFROTC military aspect, you’re learning how to be a leader in the military and learning how to make decisions and do formal leadership training,” he mentioned. “Then with running and within sports, it’s less rigid the way that you might learn those leadership skills but you can still transfer the skills both ways.
“So I can take those skills that other cadets within AFROTC don’t necessarily get to experience being on a sports team and I can apply those back into a more military centric environment.”
McKenzie has enjoyed some rich experiences while at Tech, from flying on a KC 135 to playing a role in the Michigan Tech cross country team’s highest team finish at the NCAA Championship meet last December, where the Huskies placed 10th.
It’s not lost on McKenzie’s coaches and detachment commander how difficult it is to excel in three facets of college like the Dexter native has been able to do over his four and a half years at Tech.
“This is a challenging school even if all you do is study full time,” said Michigan Tech cross country Head Coach Kristina Owen. “Michigan Tech is our state’s flagship technological university, and we take pride in our reputation for quality. Adding varsity athletics onto that is even more challenging, and our student-athletes are experts in time management. I was a student-athlete here back in the day, so I understand this firsthand and am always aware of this when planning our training and racing schedules.
“What Nick has done, adding on the extra load of military service in the AFROTC, is at a whole different level. What’s truly mind-boggling is how he’s managed to handle all three at such a high level. He’s one of our top athletes and has represented us at two NCAA DII National Championships. He’s a fantastic student, with a cumulative GPA of over 3.9 and many semesters at 4.0. And he’s reached the highest levels of service in MTU’s AFROTC program. To do all this simultaneously shows what an exceptional young man he is. It’s been a real privilege to coach him for these past few years, and I am so proud of everything he’s accomplished. He’s a hard worker, he’s a leader, and he’s ready for what comes next!”
Said Lt Col, USAF Commander, AFROTC Detachment 400 Ben P. Zuniga: “I’ll never forget unique experiences with Nick during his time within the AFROTC program. During morning physical training, my jaw nearly dropped to literally see the smoke trails behind him as he ran around the track. Our program tests cadets’ ability to run 1.5 miles, but Nick usually kept an astonishingly fast, record-setting pace. In the classroom, his keen curiosity and engineering background really shined as he tried to tie every project or presentation to space. Whether maintaining fitness or tackling innovative technologies, I’m sure he will be a great asset to the Space Force.”McKenzie is excited for the future, although there are some things he will miss about Michigan Tech as he closes in on a new chapter in his life.
“I’ve had such a close bond with the people on the cross country/track & field team and have made some really close friendships with all those guys on the team here,” McKenzie said. “I’m going to miss that a lot. I’ve also had a lot of close bonds within AFROTC as well and I’ll definitely miss being around our detachment.
“There’s a lot of unknowns in my future but I think that’s pretty exciting and I’m looking forward to living in a place that is probably way out of my comfort zone, not a small town in the midwest like Houghton or Dexter. It’ll be a new adventure for me and I’m excited to get out in the world and do some cool stuff with the Space Force and make a difference there.”
One thing McKenzie will take with him when he leaves is the memories of being a part of the best Michigan Tech cross country team in program history.
