Ben Cooper is going to miss roaming the halls at Iola High School.
He’ll miss time in the classroom, taking the toughest possible courses he could find at every opportunity.
But what he’ll really, really miss is competing in athletics.
Since his freshman year, Cooper has been a mainstay in IHS varsity sports, particularly basketball, football and baseball.
So it may come as a surprise that Cooper is not pursuing at least one of those sports in college.
Instead, he has decided to focus solely on academics when he enrolls next fall at Allen Community College.
“I think I’m ready to go on, to try to be successful in life,” said Cooper, one of four graduating seniors at Iola High who has sported a 4.0 grade-point average throughout high school.
Cooper, et al, will receive their diplomas at 2 p.m. Saturday as part of IHS commencement ceremonies.
COOPER IS hardly your stereotypical jock, even though he admits sports could take precedence over homework.
“I might be struggling in class, but I’d never miss a practice,” he said.
Even so, don’t assume Cooper took shortcuts to his unblemished report cards.
Cooper intentionally loaded his coursework with classes such as calculus, chemistry and other science disciplines.
Even when he returned home late on game nights, Cooper would not turn out the lights until his assignments were finished.
“I’d just stay up later than I would normally, and finish my homework,” he said modestly.
SO WHERE does such drive originate?
“Probably my parents,” he replied. “They’ve always wanted me to be the best I could be in everything I did. They taught me to never take the easy route, to always try to better myself.”
His parents, Mark and Lori Cooper, also had a bit of sage advice.
“They told me that if I could get an A, then I shouldn’t settle for a B.”
There were a few close calls. Calculus took some extra effort, and Travis Hermstein’s college-level American history class has become legendary among the IHS student population.
Going the science route took some convincing by chemistry instructor Dana Daugharthy.
“My sophomore year, I wasn’t even going to take chemistry, but Mr. Daugharthy talked me into it.”
By the end of the year, the class had become Cooper’s favorite, and the deciding factor to pursue a pre-pharmacy degree.
COOPER is savoring his final season on the baseball diamond.
As a multi-sport standout, he’s one of the few IHS athletes to have made it to the state playoffs in basketball, baseball and football.
“It was pretty cool to make it to state in basketball my freshman year,” he said. “I thought we’d make it back again, but we never did.”
The crowd support, at all levels, is something he’ll miss.
Playing collegiately “just wouldn’t be the same as playing in front of all your friends and family,” he said, somewhat wistfully. “Some of my favorite memories with my friends were because of athletics.”
He offers some words of wisdom to younger IHS students, both on and off the court.
“Just don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “Be the best you can be, and try to improve yourself every day. The time will go faster than you think.”
