Well On Her Way

Viking Bice heading for CMU
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By Alicia Jaimes
Tri-County senior Julia Bice eagerly awaits her high school graduation after signing with Central Michigan University (CMU) to play on their women’s golf team next year.
Only days away from having to walk across the stage to receive her diploma, she is reminded of her high school accomplishments and events that made her who she is today.
“It definitely was an emotional rollercoaster,”she  said, recalling the day she thought her life as an athlete was on the line.

On Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, while  playing in the Big Rapids vs. Tri-County basketball game an in-game injury left her with a torn ACL, MCL and Meniscus. Occurring early in their season, Julia underwent surgery but remained on the sidelines, cheering on her teammates and helping in any way she could.
She remembered feeling scared after realizing how much muscle mass was being lost  and how difficult it was to walk or put pressure on her leg. As if the situation wasn’t stressful enough, it was learned that the initial surgery didn’t go as planned and that a second surgery was required--putting her in a full hip-to-ankle cast.
This didn’t stop her though.
Chad Bice describes his daughter Julia as “dedicated,” “compassionate” and “loyal.”
“Perseverance,” he added to the list. “When you stick to something, you get rewarded; and that quality begets other qualities. If you don’t give up on your studies, you get good grades. If you don’t give up on your beliefs, you create character. If you don’t give up on people, you make friends. This is Julia--she doesn’t give up,”
His words rang true as recovery began  and with the help of a supportive family Julia was able to rejoin the sports she loved.
Coming from a household where she was told she was ‘a student athlete, not an athletic student’ Bice believes that academics come before anything else. It seems only right that she would decide to pursue a career as a music teacher.
“I want to impact the lives of kids,” she said  and credited her band director Ryan Schultz as the biggest influence in her desire to pursue this field.
Playing drums since the age of three, Bice originally wanted to play the trumpet like her father, but her natural talent fell to percussion. This talent blossomed in eighth grade when she was recruited by the high school marching band and from there became center snare and section leader of both the concert and marching band. These opportunities played a key component as she auditioned for and was later accepted into the CMU music program.
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Julia Bice is a passionate individual who throws herself into any obstacle or opportunity that comes her way; however, this doesn’t mean that she hasn’t had moments of doubt.
After being accepted into the music program at CMU she was interested in joining the women’s golf team but was unsure  about getting in--coming from a small school where womens golf wasn’t well-known.
Encouraged by her father to ‘reach out and see what happens’ Bice agreed and e-mailed the coach, offering to help in any way she could to just be a part of the golf program.
To her surprise, word came back from the CMU women’s golf coach who agreed to take a look. She sent in a video and later received the response hoped for--she was in.
On Monday, April 30, Bice signed with CMU.
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While anticipating her freshman year at CMU brings feelings of excitement and expectancy  Julia also thinks about her 14-year-old sister, Sinclaire who will begin her first year of high school. Sinclaire will be following in her sister’s footsteps  pursuing a mutual love for both sports and music. The siblings consider themselves more like best friends than anything else and Julia  hopes to visit home on weekends and in between what looks to be an already full, but promising, schedule next year.
The natural talent and determined attitude that helped her flourish at Tri-County will without a doubt help immensely as Julia begins her first year at CMU and an exciting new chapter in her life.