By Baylee Rich
Before helping students excel in the classroom, they were excelling on the field as college athletes.
Whether it was on a basketball court, football field or a baseball diamond, these experiences have helped shape these teachers’ approach to teaching and their impact on students.
Baseball coach and physical education teacher Devin Wilburn attended Ball State University to continue his academic and baseball career.
He kicked off his baseball journey when he was a little kid and continued playing through college.
“I’ve wanted to play in college since I was a kid… around 7 to 8 years old,” Wilburn said.
His father and grandpa were big inspirations for him and helped him achieve his goals. After his college experience he still had the passion and love for baseball. He knew he wasn’t done.
He proceeded to coach at Taylor University and Ball State, and then ended up coaching baseball here at Delta.
Just across the baseball program lies JV baseball coach Jacob Van Pelt.
A phys ed and health teacher, Van Pelt attended Manchester University to continue his athletic and academic career. Van Pelt had a substantial senior season, hitting .281 in 41 games.
For most of these teachers, being a student athlete was difficult. For Van Pelt, it was not so hard.
“For me I eliminated all distractions for a while,” he said. “I found a spot in the library and left my phone in my dorm and it helped me lock in and get my work done.”
While Van Pelt was able to find a balance between academics and athletics, so were others, like Ty’Ronda Benning, but in a different field.
Though for Van Pelt being a student athlete was not very hard, it was the opposite for Benning.
“Being a student athlete at the (NCAA) Division 1 level is extremely difficult,” Benning said. “The school is full time and so is the sport. It’s very hard to keep up with.”
Benning, the girls’ basketball head coach, teaches Marketing Fundamentals and Business Math. She attended Lincoln Trail College, a two year community college in Robinson, Ill., and then came to Ball State for her last two years. She played on the women’s basketball team at both colleges.
After advancing her academic and athletic abilities at both schools for two years she believed college had changed her life and taught her many life lessons.
“College sports made me very confident,” Benning said. “It’s really helped me become the person I am today.”
Benning had an outstanding high school career averaging 25.8 points per game as well as being ranked third in the state for scoring. During her two years at Ball State, Benning was ranked third on the team for scoring.
Benning has always had a love for basketball and knew she wanted to play in college since she was a kid.
“I’ve wanted to play in college since elementary school,” Benning said.
Though Benning decided she wanted to play in college since elementary school, others like Terry Summers decided much later.
“I decided to play in college my senior year of high school,” he said. “… The coach called me a couple of times, and I had some good conversations.”
Summers teaches Chemistry 1, Chemistry 2, and Biology 1. He attended Manchester College, now known as Manchester University, to continue his athletic and academic career.
Summers played football for four years outside of his academic career. Manchester University was an NAIA school when he was a student there, but it’s now an NCAA Division 3 school.
“Playing a sport in college taught me to be tough, resilient, and to never give up,” Summers said.
His resilience and determination fueled his motivation to succeed.
“I just enjoyed competing. I’m a very competitive person” Summers expressed.
Ultimately, the lessons these teachers learned from sports – like leadership, teamwork and discipline – still positively impact and guide these four teachers and their students, both in the classroom and on the field.
