- Student, On location
When he retired from Major League Baseball in 2005, former Seattle Mariner Dan Wilson was one of the best defensive catchers in major league history. During his 14 years with the team, he earned kudos on the field for his performance and off for his philanthropic activities.
But there was one thing he didn’t have that he is driven to earn – the college degree he began working on years ago.
“I want to show my kids it is important and it’s worth going back to finish,” he says.
That quest brought Dan to Southern New Hampshire University’s Seacoast Center. After retiring, Dan had moved to Rye, N.H., with his wife and four children. He was working on his bachelor’s degree online through the University of Minnesota and was required to take a classroom-based public speaking course. Seacoast Center adjunct faculty member Robert Wheeler, a family friend, recommended SNHU.
Dan learned a lot in adjunct faculty member Jack Black’s public speaking course.
“You could tell he had a lot of experience with public speaking,” Dan says. “It was one of those things that I was taking to fulfill an obligation, but in the end I was eternally glad I took it because I learned so much from Jack. I had a great experience and got the course done. ”
Now back in Seattle, Dan is taking business courses with an eye toward one day forming a nonprofit in Seattle with his wife. For now, he’s focusing full time on school and his family.
“It’s nice to be back around home and back with the kids and catch up for lost time,” he says.
