Rescue squad, varsity athletics, two majors and a minor add up to full student life

Katie Escobedo ’23 on duty at Saint Michael’s Fire & Rescue.

Beautiful mountainscapes stretch across the skyline to the east of Saint Michael’s College campus, home to approximately 1,500 undergraduate students, 40+ clubs and student organizations, and 21 varsity NCAA Division II sports teams all on one 440-acre campus in Colchester, Vermont. Though the surrounding mountains contribute to the intimate campus feel, the community stems from the small class sizes, professor availability, liberal arts focus, and close-knit campus fostered by the student body.

Katie Escobedo`23 from New Rochelle, NY, is a psychology and sociology double major with a minor in business administration. Saint Michael’s was on her college-search radar because of its small student body. “I wanted to feel comfortable with my professors, feel like they actually wanted me to succeed,” she said.

The liberal arts emphasis of the College was not something Escobedo initially sought out, but she is grateful that it is central to a Saint Michael’s education now that she has experienced its benefits. “Without a liberal arts education, I would not have realized my passion for sociology, now my second major,” said Escobedo. “My first introduction to the subject was a first year, first semester class that I was taking to fulfill a requirement!”

The community on campus also has been a large part of why Escobedo values Saint Michael’s and her time as a student on campus. Few things distinguish the College from other institutions more than the way the student body looks after one another, and the expectation of acceptance, respect, and care students have for one another, she said.

In the spring of 2022, Escobedo ran Saint Michael’s first ever St. Baldrick’s event for a prominent national charity that seeks to cure childhood cancer. St. Mike’s students came out to support her when she publicly shaved her head — one of the charity’s signature fund-raising approaches — in numbers not seen since before COVID.

Katie gets her head shave for a St. Baldrick’s fundraising event on campus to help fight childhood cancer.

“The campus culture as a whole is very supportive, something I realized to the fullest extent when I ran the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser last year,” she said.

Escobedo is involved at Saint Michael’s in multiple areas. She wrapped up her career as goalie and captain for the varsity women’s soccer team in the fall of 2022; she is a part of SAAC, (campus’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee); she is a tour guide in the Admission Office, and an Advanced EMT with Saint Michael’s Fire & Rescue.

“The unique size [of the College] and also tight knit community has allowed me to get involved at a deep level with all different types of people in various activities. I am so lucky to have unique and powerful experiences,” Escobedo said. “The size of the school definitely gave me access to all these people I now love.”

Fire and Rescue has been a pivotal part of Escobedo’s experience at Saint Michael’s. “Being on the rescue squad has been the most difficult yet also rewarding aspect of my life,” she said. “I have not only gained literal certifications and real world experience, but also a new outlook on life and gratitude. The rescue squad and school as a whole have helped me to know what I want to do in life which is really just to help people.”

Saint Michael’s Fire and Rescue (SMFR) is an independent volunteer student run organization that responds to not only Saint Michael’s College campus, but also the larger Chittenden County area. Since 1969, SMFR serves 24/7/365 thanks to highly trained volunteer students, alumni, and staff.

Not only does liberal arts education allow for well-rounded students academically – it also allows real life experience to integrate into student lives in a balanced way.

Escobedo said faculty and staff at the college help her maintain a healthy relationship with both academics and her volunteer work. “It starts at the educational level of your professors knowing you as a human being and not just a number,” she said. “I have had multiple occasions where due to a difficult call I had to miss class, turn an assignment in late, etcetera – and the same thing for soccer games. The professors have always been incredibly understanding and have helped me catch up, learn what I missed, and move forward.”

Katie also played varsity soccer.

Escobedo not only has widened her worldview through her Rescue squad volunteer work, but she also has grown through her time as a varsity student athlete on the women’s soccer team. “Being a varsity athlete and captain has given leadership techniques and skills, communication skills, and some overall life values of being a good player, teammate, and person on top of improving my athletic skills,” she said. “Athletics on Saint Michael’s College campus is a fantastic community of students, but it does not limit or make exclusive demands on a student-athlete’s time. It allows student athletes to participate in other campus activities. “

Saint Michael’s College has a lot to offer Escobedo said, and she finds many of the people to whom she gives campus tours are pleasantly surprised by the range of activities available to students. “On many of my tours, multiple people have explicitly mentioned that with a student population of our size, they did not expect us to offer so much and so many niche things like adventure sports and the MakerSpace,” she said.

The liberal arts aspect of Saint Michael’s College gives students the capacity as well as the motivation to shape their own college experiences. Within and outside of the classroom, the Saint Michael’s College experience is holistic and focused on individual growth, no matter what that means for each student.