Alumni in Their Own Words - Wyatt Anders (2010-12)
Where has your life taken you since you left CMU?
After CMU, I was offered a full scholarship at the University of Manitoba. I completed two degrees and played professional basketball. I am now juggling the life of coaching, playing (traveling the world through basketball), refereeing, and teaching in the Winnipeg School Division. CMU was the start of my academic and playing career—I would not have had these opportunities without CMU.
What components of your experience at CMU have influenced your current work?
This is tough because there are so many things that can influence my current work. There so many facets of my CMU experience at play, from the opportunity to develop as a basketball player who goes on to play international basketball, to the intensive classes with caring faculty who ultimately helped change my habits to achieve academic All-Canadian recognition, to the connections I made through a smaller campus and sense of community where people talk and actually know each other. These all helped get me to where I am today.
What is a memorable story from your time at CMU?
Plenty comes to mind. There are the athletic ones, where we had an amazing crowd at home games or the trips we took as a team. There are academic memories as well—courses with Brian Froese and Paul Doerksen come to mind. Their classes were filled with learning paired with interesting stories to captivate the attention of students. We know how students can lose focus, but Brian and Paul's ability to grab attention through storytelling and relevant connections helped the learning environment.
One memory I have is when I was in year one at the University of Manitoba. CMU basketball coach at that time, Darcy Coss, was working at U of M and wondered why I stopped playing basketball competitively. He invited me out to CMU; I was a practice player and made a mark with the team. They set me up with a tour of CMU, and I was blown away by the kind and supportive staff, and their great campus, even if it is relatively small. I spent three hours a day, three times a week, working out with Darcy in the weight room and on the court, which all paid off when I eventually became league MVP and recruited back to U of M to play. Basketball is what drove me to CMU and the school culture is what retained me to finish my degree before starting my USports career.
What would you say to a prospective CMU student?
What I can tell you about CMU is that the environment is set up to accommodate your needs as a student and/or athlete and can help you achieve the goals you have. Take advantage of CMU's supportive environment!
Printed from: media.cmu.ca/alumni-aitow-wyatt-anders