Calvin senior student, ROTC cadet, Max J. Renauldo loved God, his family, his country and his motorcycle. “He died doing what he loved,” his older brother Justin told me when we sat down to talk about our beloved Max, “He was just so much fun.”

On Friday, August 23, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., Max returned home to God after a motorcycle accident. At 22 years, the story of his life had come to an end, but it was full of many, many pages. The day after the accident I visited his family and we began talking about Max: who he was, what he loved and every single quirky thing that made Max himself.

Max grew up a hockey player, playing everywhere from the streets with his family and friends, to the local ice rinks, to Calvin’s own hockey team. His father Ralph, with a smile on his face, remembered Max as the player with passion and aggression. 

At Calvin, Max was a finance major who contracted to the ROTC program. His mother Julie described how when Max went away to basic training for the U.S. Army, he had told his mother that even though for ROTC he didn’t need to go to basic training, he wanted to endure the same training his soldiers endured in order to lead them better one day. Max had a strong passion for his country. Every day I spent with him, I saw how his actions were dedicated to the mission, something bigger than himself. Max was a soldier that led by example. 

During his time at Leadership Development Advanced Camp, a 38-day training for the U.S. Army ROTC program in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Max demonstrated his strong leadership skills. In one mission, the platoon leader froze up in the heat of the battle, not knowing what to do. Max didn’t hesitate. In an instant, he stood up and told the platoon to follow him. Lifting his M249 machine gun and firing rounds to help the mission carry on, Max rightfully earned the nickname “Rambo” for the rest of his time at Fort Knox.

Max was a character that throughout any training, no matter how miserable it was, would put a smile on anyone’s face. It could be a freezing day out in the field, no sleep, wet from rain or snow, and Max was still able to crack a joke that would make anybody laugh. Max had an energy that warmed anyone up and made them feel at home. 

Nothing was more impressive than his intelligence. Anyone who ever tried to have an argument with Max was always left defeated with a lack of evidence. His family and friends remember him studying — outside of class — the works of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and more. If Max didn’t know something, he wanted to learn it.

The memory of Max will not fade; his imprint on this earth is one that will stay for a very long time, whether it was the impact at Calvin, his Church, or with his friends and family. Max’s love he shared for God, his family and his country defined his remarkable story, all wrapped up in 22 years. During his memorial service at Calvin, his youngest brother Zach, a junior at Calvin, said, “Max was able to figure out his life in 22 years. Most people, it takes 80.” Zach was right: Max was able to figure out the meaning of life in just 22 years and live it according to God’s will.