#57: Missouri Professor Ty-Ron Douglas: “Our brokenness is a platform for our purpose”

Ty-Ron Douglas is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri. He is also actively engaged in his community – as a pastor, parent, entrepreneur, and leader. Dr. Ty, a native of Bermuda, was an accomplished athlete as a youngster who continues to see sports as vehicle for individual and community improvement. He is an inspirational leader, teacher and author whose work has been profiled at the highest levels. Dr. Ty joined the SGG podcast to discuss:

1.  Growing up playing soccer and cricket in Bermuda.

2.  Hitting a ceiling in sport.

3.  Lessons from his barber and mentor. “From him, I learned how to be a teacher.”

4.  The black barbershop as an educational space.

5.  “He saw me through the various stages of my journey. He literally gave me my first haircut. He saw me in boyhood. He saw me in my teenage years. And he was always there…For those of us who know of the transience of life, it is beautiful to have constants. He was a constant.”

6.  “From him I’ve learned how to have joy.”

7.  Finding joy in sports.

8.  Athletic spaces as “sanctuaries.”

9.  “Homophily”: finding commonality with others through sports.

10.  “I have a theory that our athletes are probably and perhaps the most underutilized educators in the world.”

11.  Border crossing – moving from space to space and building bridges.

12.  “Where we come from experiences how we see things and how we engage the world.”

13.  Thinking of “integration” instead of work-life balance.

14.  His “So Amazing Life” perspective that permeates all that he does.

15.  When things are broken, where do I go?

16.  “Broken crayons still color.”

17.  Where do you find your wholeness?

18.  “Our brokenness is a platform for our purpose.”