For Michael Vander Woude, the road from Merced, California, to Dordt University wasn't a road he traveled alone.

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Dordt had already been part of the Vander Woude family story for years. His father attended Dordt for a year, several aunts and uncles are Dordt graduates, and two of his older siblings made their way to Sioux Center as students. His older brother, William, graduated in 2020 after playing football for the Defenders, while his sister, Aubriana, graduated in 2021 and was part of the volleyball program.

Michael, a senior defensive lineman, followed them to Dordt and found a place where several parts of his life could come together.

"I've seen them walking in their footsteps, and it's kind of led me here and led me to a place where I can study ag, do it in a Christian way and play football all at the same time," Vander Woude said. "It's been a pretty nice package."

The Vander Woude connection to Dordt is still growing. Michael is the fourth of six children, and another younger sibling is now involved with the Dordt football program's film crew. A younger brother is currently in eighth grade, and Michael is hopeful he might eventually become a Defender as well.

For all the family history, however, Michael still had to make his own decision about where he wanted to attend college.

The academic opportunity was an important part of the decision. So was football. But when he visited Dordt, there was something else that stood out.

"It was just very apparent that Dordt does things differently," he said. "Seeing the coaching staff, the way they interact with players and the way that they put faith at the front of everything."

That was important to Vander Woude.

"It's not some hidden thing behind closed doors," he said. "It's very much out there and it permeates the way of life here at Dordt. I really saw that on my visit and I continue to see that every day here."

Vander Woude's recruiting experience included several trips to Dordt. He came to see his brother play his final game, made another trip with his mother to surprise William and eventually made an official visit of his own.

He remembers some of the early recruiting conversations, including one from Levi Jungling that caught him off guard.

"He texted me and asked me what I got for Christmas," Vander Woude said. "It was just such an odd thing to get from a coach."

As the recruiting process continued, he got to know more of the Dordt football staff, and those relationships helped give him a better feel for the program and eventually led to his decision to become a Defender.

Once he arrived, though, the transition from high school football to college football came quickly.

In high school, Vander Woude joked that playing defense could sometimes feel relatively simple.

"I always liked defense because I could turn my brain off and just sort of see ball, hit ball," he said.

College football didn't quite allow for that approach.

Then came the playbook.

"I get a playbook that's a half-inch thick," he said. "It really makes you reevaluate why you chose defense because there's just so many plays on our side of the ball."

Fall camp became an exercise in absorbing information as quickly as possible.

"It's a lot like you're drinking from a fire hose," Vander Woude said.

Fortunately, he found that Dordt's culture extended to the classroom and meeting room. Older players helped younger players learn, and the emphasis was on making the entire group better rather than simply taking care of one's own responsibilities.

"The upperclassmen were really helpful with that," he said. "You're not trying to just do it for yourself, you're trying to do it for the team."

The physical adjustment was just as significant. A player who may have been among the biggest and strongest on his high school team suddenly found himself surrounded by players who were just as strong, just as fast and just as committed.

"It takes a different level of commitment," he said.

Vander Woude has experienced plenty during his time as a Defender, but one game stands out even though he didn't play in it.

Dordt's home game against Northwestern last season remains one of his favorite football memories.

He had convinced his parents to make the trip from California. His father was initially hesitant, but his mother bought tickets and decided she was coming regardless. Eventually, his father joined her, and Michael's brother also made the trip with a college roommate.

The result was an atmosphere Vander Woude still remembers vividly.

"It was just an electric atmosphere of the night game," he said. "They're flashing their lights and playing our song. We're jumping around, having a good time."

The game itself lived up to the atmosphere, with Dordt earning a close victory over its conference rival.

"That was all the football joy you could ask for," Vander Woude said. "A close game comes down to the end and you come out with a victory over a rival like that. That was pretty spectacular."

Senior seasons also come with difficult moments, and Vander Woude experienced one of those against Morningside.

He was involved in a play where he believed he had forced a fumble before the running back was down. The officials ruled that the runner's forward progress had been stopped before the ball came out.

Vander Woude could see the potential significance of the play.

"It would have been a pretty good career highlight," he said. "There would have been a game changer."

Instead, it became one of those plays that a player has to leave on the field.

His approach afterward was to look at what the team could learn from the game rather than dwell on the call. Dordt's defense had played well for stretches, and Vander Woude felt the difference came down to the small details.

"We know there was a lot of fight in that game," he said. "We know there wasn't a lack of effort. It really came down to just doing our job."

For Vander Woude, the lesson was similar to what he had learned throughout his career: there is always something to improve, and the next opportunity comes quickly.

While football has been an important part of Vander Woude's Dordt experience, it is not difficult to understand where his life is headed after graduation.

He is studying agricultural business, and his family operates farms and dairies back in California.

His goal is to eventually return home and find a place within the family operation. One possibility is managing some of the family's farming and dairy operations and helping make the businesses more efficient.

"I might try to be a farm manager," Vander Woude said. "There's a few dairies in the family, so maybe there's a potential spot for me to fit in that way and manage some of the farming across all the dairies and try to just make it all a better, more efficient business."

The possibility of returning to agriculture isn't simply a career decision. It is something he genuinely enjoys.

"I really want to live on a farm the rest of my life and raise a family there," he said. "It was a blast growing up on the farm."

The goal is to take what he has learned at Dordt and eventually apply it to something that has been part of his life since childhood.  He came to Dordt with a Christian background, but he describes his years in Sioux Center as a time when his faith became more personal and intentional.

"I think the biggest thing has been my faith," he said. "Dordt has really been a place where I've been challenged to play football in a way that honors God."

That wasn't always something he experienced in the same way during high school.

At Dordt, he found himself surrounded by other Christian men who challenged him to examine his beliefs and make his faith his own. His professors have also played a role by asking questions that required him to think more deeply about what he believes and why.

That challenge extends into the football program.

Vander Woude pointed to team practices and position meetings where players are encouraged to think intentionally about their faith rather than simply checking a box by attending church.

Another meaningful part of his experience has been Monday night prayer.

Led by teammate Zach Quiring, the group gathers to pray specifically for the football team, the season, injured players and other needs within the program.

"That's just really a time where we can sit down and intentionally pray about our team, about our season, about injured players or just different topics about the team," Vander Woude said.

For him, those moments have provided a practical way to connect his faith and his football experience.

"It's been one of my favorite ways to grow my faith," he said.

As Vander Woude moves through his final season in a Dordt uniform, there is still football to be played and more memories to make. But the bigger picture is becoming clearer.  He has learned to handle the demands of the game, the disappointment of difficult moments and the responsibility that comes with being an upperclassman. He has prepared for a future in agriculture and, perhaps most importantly, has been challenged to take ownership of his faith.