Down to Earth: Freshman Plans for Field Work, Ph.D.

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Posted on October 26, 2021

Thomas Becnel

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#FreshmanFocus is a series of stories on incoming students at the University of South Alabama.

After graduating from Hueytown High School, just outside Birmingham, Cooper Forsyth spent a year going to community college and working with his dad in construction.

He had thought about becoming a physical therapist, but outdoor work agreed with him. That鈥檚 what he learned during his gap year.

鈥淲orking inside all the time, I don鈥檛 think I could do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith that job, sometimes we鈥檇 be inside, sometimes we鈥檇 be outside, and most of the time outside it鈥檇 be a nice day. Of course, you鈥檇 have the jobs where it鈥檇 be 107 degrees, pressure-washing a house, or sub-freezing temperatures, trying to paint an old couple鈥檚 cabinet doors. But then you鈥檇 have the days that were really nice, and I can鈥檛 see myself throwing those away being inside.鈥�

Forsyth decided to study earth sciences and enrolled at the University of South Alabama. He鈥檚 a geology student, minoring in chemistry, with plans for going to graduate school and earning a Ph.D. He thinks he would enjoy travel and field research.

At South, he鈥檚 met people through Spectrum, the campus LGBTQ organization. The fall calendar includes everything from Queer & Crafty bake sales to a Hallowqueen costume party. For Forsyth, it all began with a monthly meeting of the student group.

鈥淚 had friends back home who encouraged me to go, and I鈥檓 so glad I did,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone was so nice. These have been some of the best friends I鈥檝e ever met.鈥�

Forsyth, who has red hair and freckles, stands 6 feet tall and weighs 240 pounds. He wrestled for his high school. During his free time, he likes to play video games and work out at the Student Recreation Center.

At his apartment complex just off the South campus, he does groundskeeping work in exchange for a discount on his rent. Hurricane Ida knocked down some branches, but nothing he couldn鈥檛 handle.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 too bad,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was worse before the storm than after the storm.鈥�

Have you been back home yet? Are you homesick?

鈥淗onestly, I haven鈥檛 been homesick at all. It鈥檚 nice to be on my own. If I had to pick something that I miss, it would be hanging around with my friends back home.鈥�

Did training for wrestling in high school teach you anything?

鈥淪ometimes, you鈥檙e going to have to go through a lot of pain to get where you want to be. So long as you put in the effort, you鈥檒l get the results you want.鈥�

After a year off of school, full-time, was it hard to head back to class?

鈥淣ot really. When I came back to in-person classes, it was just like high school. And if I鈥檓 paying for something, I鈥檓 definitely going to class.鈥�

Your mom鈥檚 a first-grade teacher. Did she have advice for you starting college?

鈥淪he didn鈥檛. But she always went out of her way, after getting home from teaching her students, to make sure she taught us, too, which I always appreciated. My sister was the one who gave me a lot of advice, because she just graduated from college.鈥�

What did she have to say?

鈥淐hange the way that you dress, and your haircut,鈥� he said, laughing, 鈥渁nd you should be fine.鈥�

What鈥檚 your favorite spot so far on campus?

鈥淩ight now, my favorite spot is right outside the humanities building. It鈥檚 a very old building, or it looks that way, and the trees are overhanging everything.鈥�

Have you discovered much of Mobile?

鈥淣ot really. So anywhere I go is a discovery.鈥�

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