Paid internship
01/09/2024
Anton Miller organizes Refuge 461 events on campus, including Wild Church at the Nature Preserve and a World Kindness Day observation.
Embracing all Bluffton has to offer
Anton Miller ’24 stays busy on Bluffton’s campus. The history major from Springfield, Ohio, is president of PEACE Club, a member of Marbeck Activities Council and serves in Campus Ministries.
This year, Miller added paid intern for Refuge 461, a spiritual formation organization at Bluffton organized by Marcella Ciccotelli, a pastor with the United Methodist Church.
“I enjoy being involved on campus,” said Miller. “I enjoy planning and helping out with events.”
Each month, Miller plans one to two Refuge 461 events on campus. Past events include a Wild Church held at the Bluffton University Nature Preserve in October and a craft and card making event for December.
However, their favorite event celebrated World Kindness Day on Nov. 13.
“We did a random acts of kindness event where people could make a gift bag,” explained Miller. “We co-sponsored with Student Senate’s Mental Health Mondays, and the idea was that you would give it to someone you wouldn’t normally give a giftbag to.”
While Miller quickly found their fit in student organizations on campus, it took a bit of time for them to find the right major. However, a class focused on the Holocaust and Nazi Germany taught by Martina Cucchiara, professor of history, put the pieces in place.
“I just enjoy being a historian,” said Miller. “As an academic and someone who now knows they would like to teach in the future, I just find history to be a real passion of mine.”
Miller’s long-term goal is to teach history at the college level; however, they’re currently working to obtain their Adolescent/Young Adult licensure to teach high school history. During their final semester as a Bluffton student, their plan is to student teach in Chicago through the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture (CCULC).
“We are in the process of setting everything up now,” said Miller. “I committed my freshman year to it so it’s a few years in the making and is an expectation at this point.”
Miller committed to Bluffton after visiting a few bigger universities and not feeling welcomed. They appreciated the nature on campus including the Little Riley Creek as well as feeling that they could be an “individual.”
“At Bluffton, it feels like you can get to know people better, on a more personal level. I didn’t want to go to college to just be another number,” Miller explained. “Here, everyone knows you by name, they recognize you and know who you are. I think that’s great.”
