As a freshman, Kyle Mellinger ’16 would lock himself in his room on Friday nights to study biology. Four years later, this two-time Capital One Division III Academic All-American baseball player and the 2016 Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award recipient realizes how God and Wheaton have both challenged and changed him. 

“A lot of teachers talk about transformation in college and I feel like that’s been the case for me,” says Kyle. “My liberal arts education at Wheaton has shaped how I interact with people and taught me that ultimately everything points back to God.”

Kyle, an applied health science major, plans to become a primary care doctor and pursue missions, but he recognizes it’s important to look beyond science. 

“I want to see my patient holistically as a person who needs God and has needs only the gospel can meet,” he says. 

A spiritual leader both on and off the baseball team, Kyle has spent the past two summers in Vietnam, teaching English and sharing the gospel with Vietnamese school children. 

“Kyle may be the best example of what a Wheaton student athlete should be: passionate about his relationship with God, a tremendous student, an accomplished athlete, and a servant leader who has the respect of his teammates,” says varsity baseball coach Matt Husted. 

Kyle is grateful for the community Wheaton baseball has given him and is thankful for the awards he has received. Yet he acknowledges that “the awards aren’t anything in themselves...what’s important is how God has worked in me, grown me, and allowed me to use my skills for his glory.”