Why I Became a Teacher

Brian Cox (WY '19)

"When I first went to college it was simply to try my chance at playing football. I was a whopping 5’10” and 210 pounds and had successfully made it as a walk-on for the University of Wyoming football team. One day at practice I was trying to make a big hit to get the coaches to notice and I dropped my head too low. I fractured my neck and limited my ability to continue to play.

"At the time I was an electrical engineering major. Doing well in my courses was not an issue but I truly did not see myself engaging in that work for the rest of my life. I chose it because I knew engineers made money and I needed a college degree to change my stars.

"When I was hurt, I thought about dropping out and returning home to Colorado Springs to work at the gas station and McDonald’s where I had worked all through high school. Then I thought back to who, outside of my mother and immediate family, had influenced me to do more than I thought I could. They were my teachers and coaches—specifically Paul Colgate, Mrs. White and Senora Cowan. These three adults helped my single mother craft the person I would become and reinforced to me that continued effort could achieve things that money and talent could not alone. I actually called Coach Colgate, then 73, to thank him for not giving up on me, even though I was not his most talented athlete."