By Chase Karacostas

When Quan Cosby enrolled at the University of Texas, he had already played more than four years of professional baseball. Although he decided to switch sports and join the football team at The University of Texas, academics were his main focus.

“Taking AP classes was probably the most important part and life changing moment for me from the perspective of going to college,” Cosby said. “We didn’t have AVID and all that, so those harder classes were huge for me to get prepared for the SAT, ACT and college.”

Freshman Andrew Cutter said that he liked that Cosby talked about his own life and experiences to help others.

“It’s cool that he can just open up to people like that even if he has no idea who they are,” Cutter said. “And just not to be afraid to tell people what he thinks and what he’s been through.”

While a member of the Longhorn football team, Cosby majored in social work and minored in business. He said focusing on a plan helped him finish his degree without misusing time.

“I finished college in about three years basically because, not that I’m so smart, but because I didn’t drop classes,” Cosby said. “By not dropping classes or changing majors I was able to finish my degree fairly quickly.”

Some students had preconceptions about Cosby before speaking to him because of his background in high paying professional sports, but after listening to him speak, they said they appreciated how humble and down to earth he was.

“He was very family oriented and very loving and caring and smart and big on knowledge in that he prioritizes things very well,” senior Joi Thomas said. “My favorite part of his speech was when he would be honest, and when he would joke around and give us straightforward answers whether we liked it or not.”

Thomas said what resonated with her most was the idea that education should always come first.

“The most important thing he said was that your education is there to back you up and never give up on that no matter what you do, it should always be business before pleasure,” Thomas said.

Coach Elizabeth Brown said she hopes Cosby’s speech will inspire students to pursue education after high school.

“I think that’s the biggest thing that I want the students to take away with,” Brown said. “You can take a thousand different roads in life, but ultimately you need to get your degree because that is always something you can cherish, fall back on and have with you even when times get tough.”