Education Becomes a Family Affair

When Ken Geddes retired from professional football in 1979, following an eight-year career in the National Football League (NFL), he took a position in sales. But it didn’t take long for Geddes to realize there was little satisfaction in the job.

“I wanted to get back to working with kids,” he recalls, “but I didn’t want to teach.”

So Geddes shifted fields, working with troubled youth as a middle school drug and alcohol counselor. But when the grant which funded his position was about to run out, Geddes realized his degree in education wasn’t enough to secure the position. “I knew if I got my counseling credentials I could stay in school,” he says.

That’s when Geddes turned to City University of Seattle.

Working with at-risk youth by day, and attending CityU of Seattle at night, on weekends, and in the summer, Geddes earned his master’s degree and secured the position he is still passionate about today.

“I’m going on my 19th year,” he says. “CityU afforded me the opportunity to get my master’s in school counseling. I wanted a college where I could complete an accelerated program and continue to work. For me, CityU was the best opportunity.”

And he isn’t the only one in his family who thinks that way. Both Geddes’ daughter, Meghan, and his son, Ryan, are currently pursuing advanced education degrees at CityU.

Meghan, who completed her undergraduate degree at Weber State University on a basketball scholarship, earned her master’s degree in education from CityU. Currently she is working toward her education administration certification at the University, preparing to become a school principal.

CityU affords the 28-year-old the opportunity to teach at a junior high school in the morning, intern as an assistant principal in the afternoon, and attend classes at CityU in the evening.

“City University is enabling me to achieve my current goal of becoming an educational administrator by allowing the flexibility of working, going to school, interning, and still having a life,” she says. “Currently I am teaching part-time, I am an assistant principal part-time, I am going to seminars and writing papers for school, and I am playing on three soccer teams and two basketball teams.” 

Meghan’s brother, Ryan, also is currently enrolled in CityU. After receiving his undergraduate degree in American Ethnic Studies from the University of Washington and working two years in private industry, he shifted gears, deciding he wanted to teach math.

“CityU was the place,” says the elder Geddes. “Ryan stopped working and went right into the accelerated program.”

Education a Family Priority
Teaching and academics have always been important in the Geddes household. Geddes’ wife, Carole, is a substitute teacher. “Education was always the most important thing for our kids,” says Geddes. “We insisted on it. I was in education and Carole had her degree. It was a natural progression.”

Education was Geddes’ only hope for escaping poverty early in his life. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida with 16 brothers and sisters, Geddes’ life was one of few luxuries and seemingly insurmountable challenges. When he was 13, his mother died giving birth to her 17th child. That’s when Geddes’ life took a turn for the worse.

But a teacher noticing he was bound for trouble encouraged Geddes to consider Boys Town, a model city in Omaha, Nebraska, that serves severely at-risk, abused, abandoned, and neglected children. It was the first step in a major turnaround for the young boy.

At Boys Town, Geddes developed his skills on the football field. He was offered a scholarship to the University of Nebraska where he earned his undergraduate degree. In 1970, Geddes was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. After a year with the Lions, he was signed by the Rams, where he played for five years before being selected by the Seattle Seahawks in 1976.

“Athletics gave me the opportunity to go to college. And it did for Meghan, too,” Geddes says. “Athletics was something I did; had it not been for that, I wouldn’t have gone to college.”

Geddes has only praise for CityU’s partnership with the Seahawks that encourages athletes to complete their degree. “The fact that they can go to school while playing and during the summer is a great thing,” he says. “CityU is a great connection.”

Calling his experience at CityU “invaluable,” Geddes says the experience has been equally rewarding for his children. “The professors are people that have been in the profession. I learned a lot from their experience. Most of them are still working or recently retired,” he says. “Their experience was what I was going through. They could relate—it wasn’t just theory; it was practice.”

Adds Meghan: “The professors and field supervisors are very helpful and understanding. Even though I am going to school and achieving my goal of becoming an educational administrator, life is happening. And when life happens, I can deal with it because City University of Seattle is understanding and allows me the flexibility to make the program my own.”

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