Students J.U.M.P. on the Bus

October 1, 2007

Rollins students have jumped on the bus … the Join Us in Making Progress (J.U.M.P.) bus to be exact. You may have seen the bus out and throughout Central Florida. A gift from Mark Miller (Class of 1970), the bus helps the Office of Community Engagement with its outreach efforts.

“I am a great believer in helping to influence good deeds,” said Miller. “Rollins is a shining beacon and the mission statement of creating global citizens and responsible leaders is why I wanted to contribute back to the Rollins community.”

Since March 2007, the J.U.M.P. bus has logged 4,500 miles. Its travels include a summer trip to New Orleans to help victims of Katrina by clearing debris. Last weekend, Rollins Tars Lacrosse hopped on the bus to travel throughout Central Florida and raise supplies to help American solders in Afghanistan and Iraq. And this past weekend, 15 students traveled to Ocala to work on nature trails for people with physical disabilities.

Graduating with a major in philosophy and a minor in religion, one of Miller’s favorite professors during his Rollins days was former Dean of the Chapel, Arnold Wettstein. When Miller learned that Wettstein took a group of students to Jamaica for a spring break project about 10 years ago, it sparked an interest to give a little here and there. Once Mark heard that transportation was an issue for implementing Rollins’ community engagement efforts he decided to make the J.U.M.P. bus a reality.

Born and raised in Maryland and the son of a breeder of Arabian horses, Miller now owns a horse farm in Florida as well as Arabian Nights dinner theatre in Kissimmee, Florida. He credits Rollins College for making him into the businessman he is today.

“I am a happy alumnus who is just doing what Rollins College has taught me to do,” said Miller, “I’m being a responsible leader.”

Stephanie Ellenburg (Class of 2009) contributed to this article.