RCC Alumni Spotlight: Mischa Turner

Getting an education was always important to Reedville native Mischa Turner. The generations of teachers in his family encouraged him to value education and led him to participate in Northumberland High School’s dual enrollment program with Rappahannock Community College (RCC). Turner also attended the Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School on the Warsaw campus. With many college credits earned while still in high school he decided to continue at RCC and earned an associate degree.

A year after earning his associate degree Turner enlisted in the U.S. Army. Two years later he was accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. “Graduating from West Point is clearly the greatest accomplishment in my life so far,” said Turner. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had. I was stationed in Hawaii, participated in a humanitarian mission to Cuba, and served as an ambassador in a cultural exchange program in Greece.”

Turner fondly remembers the professors he had in college. “RCC seemed to employ not just competent but good people to lead classrooms. I was not the best student back then but a few professors taught me important lessons of compassion, honesty, and accountability,” said Turner. He believes that RCC serves as a steppingstone for those who go into the workforce and those who go on to further education. Scheduling flexibility allows one to get an education while handling other of life’s obligations. He added, “The College raises human capital within the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.”

Currently he is a PATRIOT Platoon Leader, Air Defense Artillery Officer stationed in South Korea.