By: Hailey Entze, DSU Heritage Foundation Student Worker
If you spend enough time within educational settings or even on the Internet, you’ve likely watched a TED Talk. These short presentations are intended to share powerful ideas from notable thought leaders with the general public. While TED Talks are focused on a more global approach, there are also TEDx Talks, which are independently organized for specific communities. Fortunately, one of our own alumni, Pierce Brooks, had the opportunity to present a speech for TEDxResedaBlvd regarding his experience and insight on transitioning from athletics to life after sports.
Brooks’ road to Dickinson State University consisted of various obstacles and pivots. He came out of high school with the mindset that he had to go to an NCAA Division I university and continue his basketball career. He began his college career at the University of San Francisco, however after some coaching changes he was informed that his scholarship would not be extended to his sophomore year. This forced him to transfer to a community college in southern California, after which he was recruited by two other Division I universities.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough transferable credits for one university and his scholarship fell through on the other. He finally settled to play at Texas A&M – Kingsville where his scholarship was once again revoked after his junior season. Since Brooks had already transferred twice, he could no longer receive a scholarship at the Division I or Division II levels due to NCAA rules. Fortunately, the assistant coach at Texas A&M – Kingsville, a DSU alum, recommended that Brooks consider Dickinson State. The thought of going to North Dakota was not exactly appealing for Brooks, but with no other options he came to DSU. To his own surprise, he fell in love with it. “In all honesty, I didn’t really choose Dickinson State to start, but I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out because Dickinson State was the only place where I felt accepted. It was a place I found a home in,” Brooks confessed.
Brooks’ time in academics and athletics at DSU had a profound impact on where he is today. He credits his professors, particularly Dr. Grabowsky and Dr. Dragseth, for turning him from a C student into someone who truly cared about his classes. “[They] cared about each of their students and took the time to connect with each student one on one and get them to participate in ways they were comfortable with, while still challenging them.” Ty Orton, or as Brooks still refers to him, “Coach”, had an impact on him as well, and not necessarily just on the court either. “He was the only coach I had where, whenever we talked, only thirty percent of it was about basketball.” The other 70% was about life lessons. Lessons that Brooks has looked back on at different points in his life and realized, “You know what? Ty was right about that. I should have listened.” While he loved basketball, Brooks knew he didn’t want to do it forever. When the final buzzer rang in his last game, he felt a freedom to embark on new challenges, no matter what they were.
His first challenge was as an assistant at an entertainment law firm that worked with high profile bands and musicians such as Earth, Wind & Fire and Kanye West. From there, he went to work for an energy drink company. Two weeks into this job they sent him out to manage their program at the 2016 NBA All-Star weekend, even though he was only an executive assistant. Thanks to his knowledge of basketball and connections with big name players like James Harden, he crushed it. Thus, propelling him into a marketing position in the company. Although energy drinks were not an avenue he wanted to stay in forever, it was in this company where he realized marketing was where he wanted to be.
Since then, he has moved onto a position as the Director of Field Marketing in an emerging industry that better aligns with his values. In addition, he has now set his sights on becoming a public speaker. Public speaking is nothing new to Brooks. It was a passion he discovered at
Dickinson State and one that lead him to become the commencement speaker here in 2013. Following commencement, he has been involved in Toastmasters International through his local club.
TEDx is something Brooks had wanted to do for a long time and his topic, Playing the Game of Social Pressure, is one that rests close to his heart. Brooks speaks about his realization that the quest to play professional basketball was never his own, regardless of the social pressures pushing him in that direction. He relates how he transitioned to his current path, using the lessons he learned in basketball. However, according to Brooks, he owns that path more definitively.
Pierce Brooks has come a long way since graduating from a small university in the upper- Midwest, but he still holds Dickinson State University in high regard. “DSU has meant everything [to me] in a way. It’s given me some of the best friends that I’ve carried with me forever. There’s just this connectedness, community, and family that DSU has that will always be a part of me,” explained Brooks. That same family is proud to have been a helping hand in his journey. There is no doubt that he can be an inspiration for current and future students, whether in athletics, academics, or simply just as an example of what Blue Hawks can accomplish if they set their mind to it.
Follow this link to listen to his TedXTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZskcFSsbi9E&feature=youtu.be
