ALUMNI Spotlight

REGIS FOX

By Sarah Myers

“lifer”, someone who started Collegiate at age 3 or 4 and continued until graduation, Regis felt that he was raised in two different worlds. Regis grew up in a neighborhood just a few miles west outside the Collegiate bubble. Regis’s mom made many sacrifices for him to be able to attend Collegiate, and he always wanted to make his family proud. He was able to navigate the different worlds he inhabited because of his grandmother, mom, and great aunt. They always had open and honest communication in their home and his eyes were open to a variety of diversity from a young age. He said this was really valuable for him in being “down to earth.”

Regis Fox, is launching the tennis ball down the court to his doubles partner. As they challenge and encourage each other, they aren’t training for a specific tournament, they are just “putting in the work,” of consistent practice and dedication to their sport. Regis, the Director of Tennis at Crestview Country Club, is used to long hours on the tennis court, both practicing and coaching. As we talk, Regis looks down at his wrist to the Collegiate bracelet with the motto, Proba Te Dignum— Prove Yourself Worthy.

Prove Yourself Worthy has become a guiding mantra for Regis. In his life as a husband, father, tennis player and coach, he shows up everyday to prove himself. He says, “Sometimes it’s exhausting, but it’s just what I do.” Regis attributes this inexhaustible work ethic and drive to his grandmother. Fox’s grandmother raised him to always give 110 percent effort. Regis said that Regis’s most memorable time at Collegiate was during his years in

at age 7 or 8, he would mow the lawn without being asked, but just because that was what he was supposed to do. His grandmother helped to instill in him early a mindset that “you always do hard things. You don’t give up. You just do what is necessary to prove yourself.”

Regis is a natural introvert. Especially when he was young, he sat back and observed the world around him. This attribute has helped him to navigate and interact well with a variety of people. “I learned that you talk differently to a kid in the neighborhood than you do to one of your teachers at Collegiate.” Even as a Collegiate the Upper School. It was then that he really found his voice. He loved his experiences playing tennis at Collegiate, especially his senior year when the tennis team moved from 3A to 4A division, and he was able to compete in the State Championship. After graduating, Regis went on to play tennis at Newman University, and took a short break from being a student- athlete to attend the University of Kansas for one year.

Regis started coaching tennis professionally in 2011. As a tennis coach, his goal is to have a significant

impact on people’s lives by treating everyone as unique. He recently had an old student reach out on social media and share the impact that he had on his life. “People don’t forget when you truly touch their lives.” with the Alumni Board. Regis feels that his “voice speaks for lots of the black kids at the school.” He says during his childhood people just accepted that injustice “is what it is,” but with the advent of social media, people are now more aware of the wide array of

When he isn’t coaching, playing tennis, or involved at Collegiate, Regis enjoys spending time with his wife, Mindy, and his 2 daughters, Adrielle, 11, and Camryn, 5. He says Mindy supports him in whatever he does as long as he communicates openly with her. He acknowledges that he would not have been able to accomplish everything that he has without “her support and holding down the fort at home,” saying, “Mindy, helps to balance me out.”

In 2020, Regis decided it was time to get more involved with Collegiate again. “All over the country, companies and organizations started to be more mindful of how they were showing up.” With the support of several alumni, Collegiate started to do the same. A fellow alumnus reached out to Regis, asking if he would like to get involved differing human experience and more mindful of the role that institutions play in either limiting or providing opportunity. As Regis is happy to note, Collegiate has become more diverse over time. When he graduated in 2004, students of color comprised 16.6% of Upper School students and 18.3 % of the students in grades 1-12. Now, students of color comprise 37.2 % of Upper School students and 33.1 % of students in grades 1-12.

As the President-Elect of the Alumni Board, Regis is passionate about working with High School students to help broaden their horizons and to encourage them to consider how they present themselves in the world. He knows that there are many kids who are like he was: “smart, ambitious, and motivated enough to be successful at Collegiate but unable to attend because of financial reasons or because the bubble just hasn’t expanded wide enough for them.” Regis says that he is starting to see a broader range of faces at Collegiate, especially in the Upper School and that he looks forward to using his perspective and voice to help Collegiate continue to expand its reach and ensure that its many different students thrive.