Feugill has sites set on career after college

Feugill has sites set on career after college
Courtesy: Kent State Athletic Communications

By Mike Bello

As a freshman, gymnast Felice Feugill has four years of blood, sweat, and tears – as coaches often like to say – to endure before her collegiate career ends.

Then, after she graduates, Feugill is looking forward to even more years of blood, sweat, and tears, first as an officer in the Marines and then as an officer of the law. It is a path she never would have considered had her father, Earl, not done both and brought home stories that intrigued a young Feugill.

“My dad is a former Marine,” Feugill said. “I grew up with it in my household. He told me stories, and it’s just something that I want to do.”

Some of her favorite stories included her father’s time in boot camp, usually a part of the Corps that most Marines cannot stand, but one that Feugill looks forward to.

“I remember him telling me about how so many recruits hated boot camp while he enjoyed every minute of it,” Feugill said. “He said it was a blast. He would tell me about the obstacle courses they had to do, and it just sounded like so much fun to me.

“He would also tell me that even though he loved it, it wasn't easy, and I think that's the part I loved about it best. I love a challenge.”

Entering the Corps with a degree, Feugill will be able to go into Officer Candidate School, where she will learn how to lead other Marines. Afterwards, Feugill wants to join the Military Police, where she will have a higher rank than if she had entered the Corps right out of high school, which Feugill almost did had it not been for her father.

“He was actually really surprised when I told him,” Feugill said. “I wanted to go straight from high school, but he said, ‘No. Go to college first.’”

Her father may have been surprised when Feugill announced she wanted to join the Corps, but it was her mother who has been apprehensive about Feugill’s future plans.

“You could say my mom's a work in progress when it comes to the Marine Corps,” said Feugill. “My mom and dad have been married for 26 years now, so she witnessed firsthand what my Dad had to endure to be a Marine.

“Even though she is nervous about me joining the Corps, she still stands behind me with full support.”

The two may be worlds apart, but Feugill feels that preparing for gymnastics throughout her four years of college will prepare her for the rigors of joining the Corps afterwards.

“It has taught me discipline, dedication, and toughness,” she said. “I have already learned so much here at Kent, and I have my coaches and teammates to thank for that. They have taught me how to be mentally and physically tough.

“They've also taught me what it means to be on a team,” Feugill continued. “In club gymnastics you are only competing for yourself, but in college you are competing for your team. It's not about you as an individual anymore.”

Once she retires from the Corps, Feugill wants to get into law enforcement like her father, who is currently a member of the Pembroke Pines, Florida police department, having served now for 17 1/2 years after serving six years in the Marines. It was her father’s stories – again – that got Feugill interested in being a police officer out in the field.

“It’s the same thing there,” she said. “I’d see how his job is. I like that. It’s hands-on. I couldn’t work behind a desk.”

Her father, who works the night shift, would come home in the morning before Feugill went to school and tell stories of what happened on his shift.

“He would tell me stories about the arrests and traffic stops he would make,” said Feugill “and it just seems so exciting and interesting to me.”

Feugill has already followed her sister’s footsteps as a gymnast here at Kent State, where Earline Feugill was a four-year letter winner from 2001-2005. If it had not been for her sister attending Kent State, Feugill might not have come to compete for the Golden Flashes.

“She definitely encouraged it,” said Feugill. “She enjoyed her years here and had nothing but good things to say.

“I admire and look up to my sister for all that she has accomplished. It's an honor to follow in her footsteps here at Kent.”

Although she is choosing the same career paths as her sister and father, Feugill says she does not feel any pressure to live up to their accomplishments.

“I don't necessarily feel pressure to live up to what they've done,” she said “However I do feel that it's necessary for me to give 100 percent effort and do the best job that I personally can do.”

Feugill has enjoyed her time in gymnastics for the Flashes, but it can still be difficult living so far from her South Florida home.

“The hardest part is not seeing my family often. I miss them a lot, especially my dad,” said Feugill.

As well as missing her family, Feugill also misses hunting and fishing with her dad. Feugill said they like to go small-game and big-game hunting, as well as fishing out in the Gulf of Mexico. Their favorite place to fish is Ten Thousand Islands in Chokoloskee, located on the western end of the Everglades.

Feugill’s family has played a key role in her meeting the challenges of reaching and achieving her dreams. Having an older sister who has gone through everything Feugill is going through now has helped her overcome the difficulties that arise with being a freshman collegiate student-athlete.

“Whenever I'm having a hard time in either gym or school I go to her and I know she'll always have advice for me and encouragement,” Feugill said.

One of those difficulties Feugill had to overcome – as if having to begin her first semester of college nearly 1200 miles from home was not enough – was the death of Tim Rand, the owner and coach of American Twisters, the gymnastics academy Feugill and her sister attended through high school.

“That was a tough time for me because he was like family to my sister and I,” Feugill said. “However, every time I step in the gym he always crosses my mind.

“He will never be forgotten.”

Spoken just like a Marine.

Ellie