With the school year winding down and students antsy for the freedom of a carefree summer, it seemed an ideal time for Dana Bowers, Chester Upland School District’s Emotional Learning Coordinator, to host Barrett Brooks at Chester High School.
After 12 years in the NFL, Barrett Brooks has made an enviable career for himself. Proud of his SuperBowl winning achievements on the field and in and around the broadcast arena, I dare say that it’s most definitely his decisions and choices off the field that give him the greatest sense of pride. Barrett is a motivational speaker, an Emmy Award-winning sports broadcast journalist, and an entrepreneur. Brooks works for NBC Sports Philadelphia, calls the Big 12 games for ESPN, and owns Brooks Alternative Services, a Healthcare Services Agency. Brooks says, “When I speak, I just tell the truth, and hopefully someone in this auditorium will hear what I have to say and leave here and make good positive choices.” Once the students leave this auditorium, there’s a real-world out there.
A 2nd round draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 out of Kansas State; Brooks graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Sociology. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in health care administration from Colorado Tech. Not bad for a young man from St. Louis, Missouri, raised in Kinloch, a place at the time noted for having the highest crime rate in the entire nation.
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