The Concentric Wealth Management Gael Spotlight is a monthly feature story about Saint Mary's Athletics and a behind the scenes look at the Gaels.
 
MORAGA, Calif. — It's 4:00 am on a Monday. Most people are still nestled underneath their bedsheets trying to catch a few more hours of sleep before their workweek begins. Not Michael Lopez; he beat you too it. Lopez is already preparing for the first of five workouts on the day. That's right: on the day, not the week. That is the life of a student-athlete who is also enrolled in an ROTC program.
 
"It was a little stressful at times," Lopez said with a playful sigh. "People would always ask me 'how did you do it?' You have to cut some stuff out, but now I have the experience and knowledge of how to balance everything."
 
Lopez is a member of the Track & Field team at Saint Mary's College, earning a spot on the roster as a walk-on during the spring of 2019. He tried club soccer at first as a way to assimilate himself into the college lifestyle, but it still felt somewhat unfulfilling to him. If it weren't for joining the Track & Field program here in Moraga, he might not be enrolled in college or the ROTC program today. 
 
It was after his first year that he was placed with a difficult decision. Lopez needed a scholarship to continue his time at Saint Mary's, and he wanted to continue running on the Track & Field team, but he did not have a scholarship. A friend of his through the club soccer team, Alexi Garcia, told him about the opportunity to get a scholarship through the ROTC program. This opened up a world of possibilities for Lopez, who began in this rigorous process in the fall semester.
 
There is no greater honor than serving your country, and that is what Lopez hopes to achieve following the completion of his ROTC program that he enrolled in through the University of California – Berkeley. He comes from a line of servicemen: his grandfather (who was nearly deployed to Vietnam) and his brother (Marines), which "makes it feel like a family tradition," in his words.
 
"I've always been patriotic for my country," Lopez said when asked about the fulfillment of this path. "My grandfather and brother helped build that selflessness in me, but isn't just a family thing or a selfless thing. I don't think I'll be good at a desk job. I have to be outside, I have to be doing something active, and this gives me the ability to do that, getting to serve my country and having that warrior ethos."
 
In a lot of ways, joining the ROTC program has helped Lopez sharpen up skills that are present and needed in both the military and running in a collegiate Track & Field program. "You still have that needing to be attentive, having to listen to coach, similar to when you are listening to a drill sergeant," noted Lopez. "On the track side, the coach is feeding you information because you he is trying to help you get better. On the army side, you listen to the information the MS4s are giving you because one day, you are going to be leading soldiers, and their lives depend on you."
 
It has been clear since the beginning that Lopez would be determined to make an impression on everyone he encountered, and that includes in his head coach. "I remember [Michael] saying he would be one of the hardest workers on the team and do absolutely everything we asked of him," head coach Marty Kinsey reminisced about his first encounters with Lopez. "What struck me was how much I believed him. There was a genuine and sincere desire inside of him to see how good he could become. He has lived up to his promises. He works very hard, brings a positive mindset to each day and we are grateful he walked through our office doors last winter."
 
There is still a lot of time left for Lopez to compete as a Gael, but also several semesters left in the ROTC program. "I would have two years and a semester left," Lopez explained. "After I get my degree, I will commission as an officer, train to be whatever they branch me into for another year, and then I'm an officer within the army." Lopez is actively pursuing a degree in integrated studies, which encompasses all of the liberal arts.
 
You can catch Lopez and the rest of the Gaels in action this spring beginning on February 8 at the All-Comers Meet hosted by Cal.