By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – It was engineering that brought student Anthony Michel to Washington State University Tri-Cities and it was the study abroad opportunities that brought a cultural enrichment.

A photograph taken by ���سԹ� engineering student Anthony Michel while studying abroad in Japan.

Michel, a Tri-Cities native, had studied the Japanese language and culture for several years before coming to WSU after transferring from Columbia Basin College for the engineering program. Attending ���سԹ� meant he could plan his rigorous class schedule around a semester trip to Japan where he would interact with locals, improve his Japanese fluency, as well as experience new opportunities typically only offered in eastern Asia.

“Before going to Japan, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my interest in Japanese, but after going there, I want to go back,” he said. “It was an amazing experience. I could potentially become a mechanical engineer and also apply my skills in Japan.”

School in Japan

While studying in Japan, Michel took more than 10 credits including courses in linguistics, Japanese, aikido, which is a form of martial arts, as well as a few others.

“All of them but one met only once a week,” he said. “Comparatively speaking, the

���سԹ� engineering student Anthony Michel, second from top right, poses for a photo with his classmates at university in Japan.

college that I was going to requires credits are kind of light so you can also immerse yourself into the culture. It worked well because I got to practice my Japanese while learning more about the country, itself.”

Because he was attending a school specializing in foreign language, he took courses with students from the United States, France, China and Korea. For many, the only common language among each of the students was Japanese, which meant they put their practice of the language to good use.

“It was really cool because you can’t communicate in English because most of the other people spoke other languages,” he said. “I definitely improved my Japanese while I was there.”

Michel also got to make friends with a variety of Japanese students, most of which who shared dorms with himself and his course peers.

“Most of the Japanese students there were learning English,” he said. “I was able to make some pretty good friends.”

Worldly cultural experiences

While living in the dorms and visiting other cities in Japan, Michel learned about the Japanese style of living, which often times is smaller in scale.

���سԹ� engineering student Anthony Michel had the opportunity to enjoy a variety of foods and enjoy visiting a variety of culture sites while studying abroad in Japan.

“Over there, everything is very compact because they are limited in many cities on space,” he said. “My dorm room was very small and the hotel rooms, especially, were really small.”

And in addition to his courses, Michel got to visit a variety of interesting places. During his first week, he and his classmates traveled from Nagasaki to Onsen, where they experienced the Obama Onsen hot spring resort, which is famous for its lengthy hot spring that participants put their feet in.

He also ventured to Sasebo, which is about 1.5 hours north by car from Nagasaki. There, he visited a military base, which offers a variety of American foods, an amusement park and a variety of Dutch-themed buildings. He also visited Fukuoka, which resides on the northern shore of Japan’s Kyushu Island, among others.

“As students of the program, we got to experience a variety of different spots meant

���سԹ� engineering student Anthony Michel poses for a photo with new friends while studying abroad in Japan.

to expose new students to the country,” he said. “It was pretty great.”

Value of studying abroad

Looking back on his experience, he said he would definitely recommend the opportunity to study abroad to other students.

“It’s a great opportunity to experience a culture besides your own,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to expand your mindset on the world, especially your expectations and view as an American.”

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For French, currently a junior majoring in viticulture, the decision to pursue a degree in the viticulture and enology field from ���سԹ� came after serving five years with the United States Air Force. He spent three years on active duty stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, where he served as a crew chief on KC-135 Stratotankers and the other two years with the Washington State Air National Guard.

“While I was stationed in Kansas, I noticed that most of my favorite wines and wine selections were from this area, and, of course, California,” he said. “As a husband and father, I had to choose a degree that would be suitable to living near family in Washington.”

From the Air Force to viticulture

French said after hearing stories of the emerging wine industry in Washington and witnessing the construction of the Ste. Michelle Estates WSU Wine Science Center on the ���سԹ� campus, it was a “no brainer” deciding to pursue a degree in viticulture and enology.

French enrolled as a student at ���سԹ� a few years ago while keeping up with his former military life through involvement with the Veterans Office on campus. Now a junior, he serves as the vet corps navigator for the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs on campus while completing his degree. His courses and connections at WSU have led to a variety of experiences in viticulture, his primary interest.

“Last summer, I interned with the viticulture department at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and had a great experience,” he said. “I really enjoy being outdoors and working with the grape vines. Combining modern technology with pest and disease management has been really intriguing to me.”

“I had seen things that couldn’t be unseen. I had to have a career change.”

For Zimmel, who graduated from ���سԹ� in 2014, the decision to pursue a career in winemaking came after he realized that, while he was grateful for his years in the U.S. Army Reserves, his job put too much stress and strain on him and his family.

For most of his career and through the present, Zimmel has served as a detachment sergeant for a small forward surgical team. Prior to this, he served as a line medic from 1991 to 1998, which gave him the foundation to serve as a paramedic as a civilian. He also served as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson in South Carolina until he was called overseas to Afghanistan in 2006-2008, and then to Iraq in 2009-2010.

“It wasn’t until I was in Iraq that I called my wife on a satellite phone in a wind-torn tent and explained to her that I had seen things that couldn’t be unseen,” he said. “I knew I had to have a career change. I didn’t want to go back to the medical field.”

Zimmel’s wife suggested that he look into winemaking as a career, considering he has expressed an interest in doing before. Zimmel said he knew he didn’t have the resources to attend University of California Davis, which offered a comprehensive degree in viticulture and enology.

“Later, it was my wife that made the discovery that WSU had a program and a plan soon began to be made,” he said.

Zimmel began taking courses first at WSU Vancouver in viticulture and enology, before transferring to ���سԹ� to complete his full degree in 2014. He was in one of the first “Blended Learning” classes, which made a complete batch of wine from vine to bottle.

“When I started, I had no background in viticulture and enology,” he said. “I did, however, enjoy wine and always wanted to know more about it. I had the opportunity to travel a lot with the military and I fell in love with the Riesling in Germany, Sauv blancs in New Zealand. I’ve had horrible reds from the eastern block of Russia and incredible wines from the northern part of Italy.”

Forever a veteran

Even though both Zimmel and French are pursuing new passions after military careers, they said they will always cherish their time in the military and they even use their experiences as they can be applied to careers in viticulture and enology.

Zimmel has since started his own wine label, “Cerebella” under his winery name “Zimmel Unruh Cellars,” which released in summer 2015. In doing so, he said he’s using many traits and lessons from his career in the military.

Those include the fact that he knows he’s not the smartest person in the room, that burning bridges wastes time and energy, and that he can work with strangers to accomplish goals.

French said he respects and values his time in the military and continues using the skills he developed, such as leadership, work ethic and persistence, as he pursues his degree and moves into his future in viticulture.
Read more about Robb Zimmel .

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