Born almost three months prematurely, Mike Miesch ’55 (right, above) developed a severe hearing impairment that affected his speech. Starting early in life and continuing into his college career, assorted “experts” tried to limit his options.
Fortunately, Mike had brains, grit, resilience and the loyal support of his younger brother, Pete ’55 ’62 ’63 (left, above). Because the siblings communicated easily with each other, Pete readily embraced being Mike’s interpreter—even following his brother to school on the first day to keep tabs on him.
Soon the 4-year-old Pete joined Mike in first grade, forming an academic partnership that would span the brothers’ undergraduate years at Texas A&M University, where they roomed together and supported themselves by working in food services and parking cars at football games. Both earned degrees—Mike in entomology and Pete in petroleum engineering—before going their separate ways.
Apart, the two continued to succeed, with both earning master’s and doctorate degrees, raising devoted families and enjoying successful careers. Pete worked on Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale and recently donated valuable geologic maps, well logs, cross-sections and seismic lines of the area as a gift-in-kind to benefit the Department of Geology and Geophysics.
But Pete’s biggest contribution remains helping his brother smash through society’s limiting beliefs and prevail, in a true embodiment of the Aggie core value of loyalty. “I’ve never seen camaraderie between two siblings like this,” said Pete’s daughter, Liz. “Most people would be broken by everything they’ve faced—but not them. Nothing can break the special brotherly bond they share.”
Through the years, Mike and Pete have been side by side, supporting each other's successes and breaking barriers.
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