Micah Petersen accepts DuPont Scholarship to attend University of Delaware

A home-schooled and Lone Star College-CyFair dual credit student is on his way to a prestigious university.

For more than eight years, Micah Petersen wanted to attend and play basketball as a point guard, despite not having the height, at Duke University. He would even paint himself blue for North Carolina basketball games.

"This was a goal forever and one that pushed me academically, physically and mentally," said Petersen, who was home-schooled since second grade, in a press release. "When applying for colleges, it's sometimes hard to convey how rigorous home-school curriculum is, so community college courses were a tangible, like SAT scores."

Petersen started taking dual credit courses at LSC-CyFair as a junior to enhance his college applications. He said the college faculty care about their students, and he is still close with several of his instructors. In a college recommendation letter, Petersen's LSC-CyFair precalculus and calculus professor Chinyoung Bergbauer, wrote "He would be a great leader. ... I truly believe he will succeed in anything he puts his mind to, and I recommend him without reserve."

With the goal of finding a college that would prepare him for a career in intelligence work and eventually a run for political office, Petersen applied to 17 colleges. He was accepted into several universities, including an appointment to the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the University of Delaware with a full-ride Eugene DuPont Scholarship. That honor is given to 30 students a year.

"I had to balance, do I want to be one of 1,000 cadets and this brotherhood of a lifetime ... or one where I'm put in a position of leadership and work closely with mentors who want to guide me through school and after?" said Petersen, who wondered if he was blinded by West Point's prestige and realized he hadn't consulted with mentors or prayed about his options.

After visiting both universities, careful consideration and remembering his mother's words that "every decision has consequences, so you have choices," Petersen made his decision. He said he knows he would have succeeded at West Point but has the motivation, drive and desire to be his own pioneer on the path to success.

This fall he will attend the University of Delaware as a DuPont Scholar and be involved with ROTC while pursuing a double major in political science and Mandarin with a minor in math. He also hopes to be part of the university basketball team.

For information on LSC-CyFair dual credit, visit www.lonestar.edu/jumpstart-cyfair.