Scholar Stories: Nichols Finds Community, Experience, both Cheer and Abroad
12/16/2020 10:00:00 AM | Features, Spirit Department
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Ethan Tipping
For some, working alone is their greatest strength. However, for one student-athlete in particular, community is everything.
Joshua Nichols is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where he found his place among multiple communities. Nichols graduated with a degree in International Studies and is pursuing a Masters in Management at the Ross School of Business.
The International Studies degree requires students to advance their knowledge, understanding and ability with foreign languages. They do this by requiring six semesters of a foreign language with a geographic focus area as opposed to LSA's four-semester requirement.
In high school, Nichols was required to study a sub-category and chose to take courses in International Norms, Security, and Cooperation. Growing up in Belleville, Mich., a few miles down the road from Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan had always been a big part of Nichols' youth experience, which kept the school at the forefront during his college search. With his education background, familial ties and proximity, Nichols began his undergraduate career as a Wolverine.
Upon his acceptance to U-M, he immediately began finding his people and getting involved.
Within two weeks, Nichols was a proud member of the Michigan Campus Day Team, a dedicated group of students who take prospective students on an in-depth tour of their specific school within the university. The goal is to help admitted students feel more comfortable with the school and relieve any anxieties as they transition to college.
"I am a huge people person," Nichols said. "I liked it because I have the opportunity to connect with so many students and share my experiences to help others."
From there, Nichols only furthered his level of involvement as he joined the Men's Glee Club, a Michigan Learning Community and the school's cheerleading team. He even performed in the live performance In the Heights.
Michigan Learning Communities are smaller groups of students that live in the same dormitory as their cohorts and study a specific topic which can range from service to language. Nichols chose a language, German, which he used towards International Studies requirement.
Whatever Nichols was doing, one thing held true: his desire for new experiences and challenging opportunities.
"The opportunity to do something out of my comfort zone is something that I welcome, and I really enjoy," he said.
His mother fostered and instilled in him the idea that he could make things happen if he worked hard enough. Just do not expect anything to come easy.
With this mindset and the push from his friends, Nichols set out to make the cheerleading team his sophomore year. This involved months of Olympic lifting routines, gymnastic skills and studying film on form. Despite this intense training, Nichols did not make the cut.
"I wasn't disappointed and was thankful for the constructive criticism my coach provided me," he said. "I took it as an incentive and knew this was something that I wanted. I had a goal to get on the team, and I knew what needed to be done to make it happen."
Nichols made this clear when he spent the entire summer training in Gymnastics Gym outside of Washington, D.C. The work paid off. He joined the team in the fall of his junior year and shortly thereafter helped Michigan win the National Cheer Association (NCA) national championship.
"We had given 100 percent of what we could do that year," he said. "Seeing it amount to a national championship left us with a great sense of joy knowing we had collectively succeeded."
Despite his heavy involvement, Nichols never felt stressed or stretched thin.
"I pray quite often that I am given the wisdom to know when something is good for me to do," he said. "If I feel something isn't, I have no problem saying 'no' to it."
Nichols emphasized that whatever he did was done with purpose because he had chosen to follow his passion of being challenged and meeting new people. This was not a phase he went through in college; this is what Nichols lived by. It played a large role in why he chose to pursue International Studies.
By the time he graduated, Nichols could speak Spanish, Portuguese, German and English. He also had traveled to more than 13 countries via immersion trips and self-motivated exploration.
One of his top destinations: Hawaii.
"Hawaii was just perfect. It was truly heaven on earth," Nichols said. "The water is crystal clear and you could see so deep. Having swum in the North Atlantic, this was the first time I had ever been in warm ocean water. I don't understand how someone can grow up in Hawaii and want to live anywhere else."
Nichols discovered his academic passion through an immersion trip to Guilin, China, during a homestay with a host family. Guilin is a city in southern China, and Nichols happened to visit during monsoon season.
"They had a welcoming festival and they made us all this traditional food. When they returned to the house, the skies were black," he said. "It rained for hours and we lost all connection and power. What really opened my eyes was that this was normal for this family to experience."
It was in this bizarre order of events that Nichols found himself eye-to-eye with a toddler who ultimately would reveal to him the power of experience.
"I stopped trying to find connection, so I put my phone down and went to play with the family's toddler," he said. "We obviously couldn't communicate because we don't speak the same language, but in that moment, we were the same, quite simply. We were sharing a moment, and it made me realize we don't need to speak the same language or live in the same country to share a memorable experience."
In light of finding his multiple communities at Michigan and studying his greatest interests, Nichols has walked away with a sense of satisfaction.
"I really believe I have maximized my time at Michigan and have been able to tap into as many communities and activities as possible."
Nichols' college experience highlights the importance of getting involved and finding great people, but doing so with great support and guidance.
"I attribute all of my success and my ability to balance to my loving and caring parents and always having God as the guiding light at the forefront of my life."
As far as future success goes, Nichols plans to join the United States Navy and attend Officer Candidate School after graduation. Looking back on his time, Nichols had nothing but gratitude.
"The education I've received has set me up well for my professional life," he said. "But it's the social atmosphere of campus that has allowed me to meet people I never would have elsewhere!"
