Born in Knoxville, Tenn., and raised outside of Asheville, N.C., and Williamsburg, Va., Michael Sutphin has lived in Blacksburg for the past nine years.

In 2002, Michael came to the New River Valley, where he has deep family roots, to attend Virginia Tech. During his college years, he served as a news editor and reporter for the Collegiate Times and as a student leader. In the fall of 2005, he co-founded a grassroots campaign that resulted in SafeWatch, an online reporting mechanism that monitors campus climate and connects students and employees with the appropriate authorities. That spring, he earned two Virginia Press Association awards and the Charlotte Davis Media Service Award, the highest student journalism accolade at Tech. (Read a sample of Michael’s news coverage at the Collegiate Times.)

Michael graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication and accepted a job as a writer for his alma mater in 2006. Since graduating, he has not only worked at the university for five years but also completed the coursework for a master’s degree in English.

Throughout his life, Michael has demonstrated a commitment to service. Whether volunteering at The Big Event, traveling to the Dominican Republic to help at a home for Haitian children and teenagers, running in a 5K to support a local crisis hotline, or serving on town committees and a nonprofit board, he has given his time and talents back to the community.

In 2009, Michael completed the Blacksburg Citizens’ Institute and ran for town council to bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the town he had come to call home. Although he did not win, Michael garnered 2,097 votes and an endorsement from The Roanoke Times. (Michael was again endorsed by The Roanoke Times in 2011. Read that endorsement here.)

Michael now serves on the Blacksburg Long Range Planning Committee, the Blacksburg Housing and Community Development Advisory Board, and Equality Virginia’s board of directors. He is a member of a number of civic and community organizations, including the New River Land Trust, The Lyric Theatre, and Downtown Blacksburg Inc.