CBC Alumni Stories

Bryan Rooney has gone into the world and impacted it in his own way. He was recently hired as the girls’ basketball coach at Shiloh Christian School in Springdale, AR.

My CBC Journey

Bryan said that he heard about CBC through his church. “I attended a Missionary Baptist Church in Guy and Tim Brewer, who was an adjunct at CBC at the time, was my pastor. I hung around church a lot and kids from my church had previously attended CBC as well. “The size of CBC and the relationships that I made were so important. We took a journey together,” added Rooney, when asked about what his CBC experience was like. “I still think about the times I was on the Impact Team and helped set up for events.

The CBC Experience

“I didn’t originally attend CBC for an education degree,” said Rooney, a 2006 graduate. “I originally came here for the counseling program. I got into coaching when I started at CBC and my old high school coach had an AAU team that he wanted me to coach. I fell in love with it. I didn’t know I wanted to coach until I tried it. I have been coaching for 10 years now and I moved up the ladder pretty steadily at Little Rock Christian. I coached the middle school programs for one year, the junior high programs for three and was a varsity assistant for the high school team for five. I figured out that God’s providence for me was to coach girls and I love doing it.”

Valuable Lessons

When asked about his most valuable lesson learned as a CBC student, Rooney replied: “Be yourself and get in where you fit in. Pay attention to what your professors say, as I never forgot anything that Dr. Smiley, Dr. Bender or Dr. New said. CBC is really where you find people you enjoy being around. If you try to run around and be someone else, you will never be around the right people. If you do what God has called you to do, you will find people that are on the same road as you.” “CBC made me a lot more rational,” said Rooney. “It made me realize that there are more diverse people in the world. We all have different experiences despite what we believe. There’s a whole different group of people and CBC and coaching have both taught me that even the most obvious chance of unity could create division if you don’t respect people and their opinions.”

Advice for the Next Generation

Leaving advice for current students, or students considering CBC, Rooney said “I’ve attended several colleges and had many different professors. I don’t think you can match the care and expertise of the faculty and staff at CBC. They are on par or exceed every school I’ve ever been to. You only get one college experience and it’s a great time to try something.”

Written by, Erik Holth, Public Relations Officer

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If you are you looking for a challenging college experience that will help make you into the best version of yourself, like Bryan. Visit cbc.edu/WhyCBC to schedule a visit or apply today!