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Beyond the Limits of His Hometown
Jan. 20, 2006
"It was such a community atmosphere here in Madison," said Brown. "When Barry Alvarez took over the football team it was kind of a big transformation, and I'd say pretty much everyone you talk to is a big supporter of the school, you can't really escape it." Brown originally wanted to play football in college, and was recruited by other universities to do so. Once the high school state champion in the 300-meter hurdles and 110-meter high hurdles decided to pursue track and field instead, the decision on where to further his education became an easy one. "The Wisconsin track program has been well known for being a really powerful team ever since I was growing up," said the LaFollette High School standout. "It didn't make sense for me to go anywhere else." His decision has proven to be a good fit, both athletically and academically. The biochemistry major was a 2005 CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American in his pursuit of medical school, which goes well with his 2005 NCAA qualification in the decathlon and javelin. His potential in both of those events was undiscovered until he began his Badger career. "When I came on to do track and field, I was originally going to be a hurdler," explained the tri-captain. "With the influence of one of our former assistant coaches, I tried the decathlon because I did have some experience in a few of the other events and he thought it would be a good fit for my athletic ability. I'm a bigger type of runner, and I have the ability to throw and a little experience in the jumping events, so I said let's do it." The javelin throw is not even a high school event in Wisconsin, but Brown worked very hard at it and made it his best event, finding more success there than in hurdles where he had made a name for himself in high school. Training for 10 different events takes a lot of planning and mental preparation according to Brown. "You can't accomplish everything you want to in one day," he explained. "We mainly focus on staying in shape every day, and then we focus on two of the field events each day as well. We just come out with a monthly or weekly plan of what we want to accomplish, doing certain events on certain days. You can never be completely prepared for meets, you just have to go in there and hope it all comes together." Last spring was his first trip to the NCAA national championships, which took place in Sacramento, Ca. Like many decathletes, Brown did not feel that he fulfilled his potential on his first trip. "You get to nationals and now you're competing against a lot of people who are as good, or better than you. There is a very high level of competition that you can't get used to at a dual meet throughout the season or even at the Big Ten championships." The senior is optimistic about returning to the national championships and performing better, now that he has experience. "Hopefully getting back there this year for the second (indoor) and third (outdoor) times I'll have a little more poise and do the things that I think I can accomplish there," he said. Immediately after his trip to Sacramento, Brown flew back to Madison, and stayed precisely one night before leaving again the following morning. He was set to arrive in Querétaro, Mexico that afternoon to begin six weeks of studying Spanish. The future doctor thinks it is important to have a solid background in the language and culture of Latino people, and could think of no better way than to live with a host family and take Spanish classes at a university three hours north of Mexico City. "I am close to being fluent, but definitely have some work to do if I want my Spanish to be useful in a clinical setting," he admitted. In another effort to advance his future career, Brown volunteers at Saint Mary's hospital in Madison. He helps out the doctors and nurses with anything that needs to be done, which often includes transporting patients and test results to and from the 14-bed emergency room. Though he enjoys his time in the emergency room, he is unsure about what kind of doctor he wants to be. "The emergency room is definitely an in-your-face profession where you have to be prepared for whatever comes at you. As an athlete, that's very similar to what you experience in an athletic arena so there is definitely an appeal for me," he said. "I am also thinking about doing some things related to sports medicine, which would also suit me well. I have a lot of experiences that the athletes could identify with. That would help me understand my patients in a way that a doctor without competitive experience wouldn't be able to." Upon graduation in the spring, the valedictorian of his class at LaFollette will attend medical school, though he doesn't know where yet. He has been accepted to one school, with two other applications still pending. In the mean time, Brown has high goals for himself in the Badger uniform. "I had some success and since then I set goals of winning the Big Ten title and doing well at nationals. I am still working towards those goals and trying to live up to my potential," he said. His potential as a doctor has yet to be reached, but Brown has set himself up for a successful career far beyond Wisconsin's track complex.
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