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If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It Alumni Spotlight-Brady Bonsall
December 08, 2020
Burwell High School is excited to continue to feature alumni and their accomplishments. We hope this will inspire and encourage current BHS students! This month we feature 1991 grad, Brady Bonsall, who lives in Kearney, Nebraska. Check out his questionnaire and pictures! If you have a suggestion for an alumni member to feature, please contact Ronda Weber at Burwell High School.
Name:
Brady Bonsall
Graduation Year:
1991
Where do you reside (City, State):
Kearney, Nebraska
Education, Schools Attended, Degrees Attained:
Bachelor of Science in Education (UNL, 1995)
Masters in Education (UNL, 1999)
What is your current job and how did you get started there?
Head Track & Field/Cross Country Coach, University of Nebraska-Kearney
Our family’s move to Kearney was absolutely God’s work. I had a desire to move from high school coaching to college coaching but was not actively pursuing it. However, in the days leading up to our first high school track meet of the season at UNK, I prayed very specifically that their head track coach, Andy Meyer, would visit with me about coaching at UNK. Although there was no official opening at the time, Andy brought up the topic “out of the blue” about 5 minutes after our team arrived at the meet.
Two months later, I accepted a position at UNK. Many years later, I believe that our move to Kearney was about much more than a new coaching job, but God used that job for us to make a move that our family needed to make.
What kinds of things do you do in your job?
Much of my day is focused on administrative duties as the head track & field coach. This includes hosting events, managing our team, and recruiting prospective student-athletes. In addition to that, I teach a couple of teacher education courses. My day usually ends by working with our mid-distance and distance runners at practice which is the best part of my day.
One event that we host is the Nebraska High School State Cross Country Championships which is ironic since my first time running in that meet three decades ago played a huge role in the career path that I eventually took.
Have you had any other jobs/careers of interest?
After graduating from college, I was a math teacher in Lincoln Public Schools (2 years), Boulder Valley Schools in Colorado (3 years), and Ogallala Public Schools (6 years).
Prior to moving to Ogallala, my other career was as a “professional” track & field athlete. That career included competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996 and 2000 along with competing at the U.S. Track & Field Championships in the non-Olympic years from 1995 to 2001. Like it is for most of the “professional” rodeo athletes that come to Burwell every July, running was not a good way to pay the bills. However, I did well enough that I was to be an athlete without spending money to do it.
Do you ever come back to Burwell?
Yes, I usually come home for the rodeo, Christmas, and to help family with pasture upkeep once or twice a summer. For me, time in Burwell is one of my favorite escapes from my day-to-day routine, especially the time I spend in our pasture north of town near Burwell Feeders which is where I grew up.
What is your favorite memory of Burwell High School?
In high school, I often replaced God in my life with the pursuit of success. To some degree, I still struggle with that. I clearly remember several experiences my junior year showing me that God is greater than the gifts He gives us. It is all too easy to get that mixed up.
How did your experience at BHS impact your career/life path?
There were a lot of people at BHS who were tougher than me and who worked harder than me, especially outside of sports, including some current leaders in the Burwell community. Since distance running tends to reward those with a high pain tolerance and those who thrive with a high workload, my background at BHS more than prepared me for success in an area that led directly to my career path.
What piece of advice would you give current BHS students?
Take ownership in your own success, but allow the wise people God has placed in your life to mentor you. In their own ways, Coach Boucher (in running) and Mr. Lee (in math class) both did a tremendous job of fostering my desire to take ownership in a way that made me respond to their leadership.
What are your hobbies?
When it comes to hobbies, I think of my dad. He ran a cattle feedlot, served on some local boards, and tried to rodeo when he could. Otherwise, I don’t know that he had any hobbies, and I am a lot like him in that way. For a lot of parents, their “hobby” is to follow their kids’ activities. Both of my parents did so in such a way that my pursuits were never more important to them than they were to me. I did not appreciate that until several years later.
What was the last book you read? Did you like it?
Unlike my wife, who reads a couple of books a week, I do a horrible job of reading anything other than the news. In Mrs. Piper’s high school English class, she didn’t make me read the full 1000 pages of outside reading every semester as long as I read the books that she recommended to me. Looking back, I had no idea at the time how strategic she was about choosing books for me that challenged my worldview and thought process. She was a tremendous teacher.
What was the last movie you watched? Did you like it?
Our family tends to watch the same movies over and over, and many of them are quoted daily in our house. I am not sure when I last watched a new movie, but the most recent one we re-watched is Remember the Titans. That one resonates with me in many ways.
What is your favorite place to vacation? Why?
Since my wife likes family trips, I think the best answer is “wherever the family trip is this year.” As a fairly boring person who is not very good at relaxing, my coaching-related travel tends to be enough for me. In addition to that, we have an 8th-grade daughter with significant developmental delays, so our travel is limited and much of my time away from work is spent hanging out with her.
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
Hopefully, that is yet to come! I hope that I recognize it and appreciate it when it happens.
