What was helpful and stood out to me then was the diversity of the faculty and diversity of the student body. You got much richer perspectives and experience through that diversity.
During his 30-year military career, Mike Adams, ’94, traveled to places as far away as Iraq and South Korea. But he can trace his global acumen right back to Bridgewater State classrooms.
“What was helpful and stood out to me then was the diversity of the faculty and diversity of the student body,” Adams said of Bridgewater, where he studied sociology. “You got much richer perspectives and experience through that diversity.”
Adams credits his time at Bridgewater with instilling skills that formed the foundation of his extensive service in the U.S. Army. The intangible benefits of a liberal arts education, earned at an institution like Bridgewater which champions diversity, helped Adams adjust to serving on a tank crew in South Korea with a Hispanic soldier from New York, a Jamaican and a Samoan.
He rose to key leadership posts, including chief of staff for the 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia. There, he helped design and implement COVID-19 mitigation measures to protect more than 19,000 soldiers, civilian workers and family members.
“I served with some of the best men and women in the Army,” said Adams, who retired as a colonel and now lives in his native Massachusetts. “Being in command is probably one of the most important and rewarding jobs I’ve had.”
Adams earned master’s degrees from the National War College and Air Force Command and Staff College, advanced educational experiences that he was ready for with a Bridgewater diploma.
“I was 100 percent prepared,” he said, adding he could adapt to the Army’s direct written communication style. “You had to write a lot in sociology and the college environment.”
Adams was so impressed with Bridgewater that he encouraged his daughter, Sophia, '28, to come to BSU. Sophia, who is studying astrophysics, aspires to conduct research using prominent telescopes like Hubble.
In just her first semester, she is already studying her passion through physics instructor Joseph Doyle’s Exploring the Universe course.
“I love that class so much,” she said. “It’s exactly what I want to do and the stuff I want to learn. It’s overall just a really nice opportunity to learn about the history of astronomy and do some fun labs.”
Adams is glad – but not surprised – to see Sophia fit in at Bridgewater.
“It has a great climate,” he said. “It will play to her strengths. Bridgewater is in my mind the right place.”
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