3 minute read
Veteran Plants Seeds of Success
Veteran Plants Seeds of Success in Rural Oklahoma
BY EMMA WRIGHT ('20)
There are a multitude of different ways to go about finding one’s vocation. For Ethan Feuerborn, enlisting in the Marine Corps after high school is what drove him to eventually get a degree at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) and find his vocation teaching and coaching in rural Oklahoma.
Graduating in 2006 from Washington High School, a small rural school in Oklahoma, Feuerborn decided to enlist in the Marine Corps, following the legacy of his brother, father and grandfathers who participated in various military positions throughout their lives. From 2006 to 2010, Feuerborn was deployed twice, ending up in Afghanistan for his second deployment.
It was his time in Afghanistan that continues to influence his service to his community. Stationed in a small farming town, Feuerborn participated in the “largest heliborne operation since the Vietnam War” that aimed to build relationships with the local Afghan people and assist in building their infrastructure in hopes of convincing them to switch from growing poppies to wheat.
Courtney (wife) and Ethan at SNU Football Field
Marine Ethan Feuerborn serving in Afghanistan
Learning how to connect with civilians interculturally was crucial to the operation, providing valuable experience for Feuerborn: “When we were there, we opened up the health center for the first time in decades. We opened up the school for the first time in decades… Whenever we started the school, we had people who were 50 and 60 years old enroll in first grade because knowledge is power there. They think if they learn how to read and write, they can become powerful because that’s what they’ve been exposed to.”
Teaching both adults and children, Feuerborn reminisced on his time in Afghanistan as incredibly meaningful, saying, “Some of the best people on the planet are the Afghan locals—they would do anything for you.” Feuerborn took this experience of hospitality and intercultural connection and translated it to his current career.
After coaching at Washington for two years upon returning from Afghanistan, he found himself thinking, “Man, if some of these kids are going to be recruited to go to college, I think I can go to college and play football, too!” After deciding
Coaching at Choctaw High School
to attend college, Feuerborn decided to walk on at the University of Oklahoma, playing football during the spring and summer only to be cut at the end of July. Realizing that playing football was crucial to his college experience, he emailed coaches from across the state and was given the opportunity to play for SNU’s football program. Through hard work and dedication to both his studies and athletics, Feuerborn graduated from SNU in two and a half years with a history degree and a passion for coaching.
Jumping around from collegiate to high school coaching, even coaching at SNU for a few years, Feuerborn finally found his place as head coach of the Little Axe High School football team. There, he coaches football and teaches social studies, finding his service in the military particularly helpful in the diverse community of Little Axe.
“While I may not be able to deploy and be in the Marines anymore,” Feuerborn explained, “I can help the country by making the next generation of leaders.” Planting seeds of success in Little Axe is Feuerborn’s goal, helping students deal with homelessness, hunger and poverty: “We take [students] to the food pantry, wash their clothes at the school… kids need to feel secure and loved, and they need to feel a sense of optimism and empowerment. There’s nowhere else that I’d rather be than here.”
Feuerborn’s service to the country has shaped him to serve his community, near and far, teaching his students about the Three E’s: employ, enlist, or enroll. Taking a non-traditional career path has led him to finding his passion for teaching and speaking life into the younger generation, using his positive attitude and tenacity to encourage those around him to strive for success.
