OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
There actually is a full time recruiter working remotely from the front range but don’t think they are engaging alumni, etc…
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Not only do the Cowboys NEED to win...
- Thread starter cowpoke pride
- Start date
Living in Cheyenne, there is a bit of a stigma attached to UW for local kids. I hear it is "an extension of high school" in a lot of my circles - most which have college-aged kids. I can tell you this - if UW was more than mediocre in anything, it would sure help. And if it wasn't viewed as "anyone with a pulse can get in for cheap," it would be better.
LanderPoke
Well-known member
People in Cheyenne look down on anyone or anything??? Wut? That’s high comedy, I’m being serious
Cheyenne is a literal, ugly dump and the only reason anyone lives there is because there happen to be jobs due to it being the capital. It’s ugly, windy and has zero redeeming qualities that would make any independently wealthy person desire to live there
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Cheyenne has always had that stigma with high school kids. Not all of course.
Probably has a lot to do with the proximity of UW to Cheyenne. It's too close and too familiar to be considered a cool destination for high school grads from there.
Growing up in Sheridan, I remember a lot of my classmates talking about wanting to go to school in Montana and Colorado. It was still familiar enough but also different enough from Wyoming that is made them feel unique. The financial reality resulted in most of them going to UW, but a lot of kids saw attending UW as a last resort.
OK. My comments were primarily directed toward the perception that it really isn't a change from Cheyenne's high school scene for most grads (in other words, there is a presumption that a lot of local kids go to Laramie - true or not - and so they don't want to go to UW because it will socially be an extension of HS). Most Wyoming kids choosing a college couldn't care less about ugly and wind - they live with it everyday in nearly every town across the state. Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette, Rock Springs, Green River, Evanston, Laramie...none are exactly idyllic from a "beauty" standpoint. As for wanting to attract the independently wealthy - I guess they might move to some corners of the state like Sheridan, Jackson and - maybe - Lander. The reality is that - outside of a very few instances - the wealthy use Wyoming more as a tax haven than a home, which isn't exactly a badge of honor for those that are blessed with their presence. Few - if any - wealthy people that move to WY do much of anything for their town, their state or UW. In reality, they are takers - just like the rest of us that live here (myself included). We let the minerals industry pay our freight and hope that we can pass the due bill on for as long as we possibly can.
Cheyenne is not exactly picturesque. It is certainly windy. It has redeeming qualities (good schools, one of few places actually growing, jobs, etc.), but I'd guess you aren't open to that discussion as your mind appears made up and I really don't care anyway. My point wasn't that Cheyenne is looking down on anyone or anything. My point was that a lot of kids in Cheyenne (and elsewhere in Wyoming too) perceive UW as a "safe" option and one that isn't a whole lot different SOCIALLY than what they experienced in high school because "everyone from WY school X goes to UW."
My other point was that might change if UW had programs that were knocking it out of the park. Engineers and astronauts don't choose West Lafeyette, IN and Purdue because it is Jackson Hole kinda beautiful - they choose it because the programs are top drawer.
J-Bone
Well-known member
Every kid in Wyoming grew up in a small town. I think it’s normal to want to experience something new and different when considering college.
My first choice after graduation in Gillette was Bozeman, but mainly to go snowboarding at Bridger and Big Sky. It was just too expensive compared to Laramie, though. I ended up getting a few large scholarships, which forced my decision. Hindsight, it was 100% the right choice. Laramie is a special place, and a wonderful college town. My education there has served me very well.
My first choice after graduation in Gillette was Bozeman, but mainly to go snowboarding at Bridger and Big Sky. It was just too expensive compared to Laramie, though. I ended up getting a few large scholarships, which forced my decision. Hindsight, it was 100% the right choice. Laramie is a special place, and a wonderful college town. My education there has served me very well.
LanderPoke
Well-known member
Cheyenne certainly has reached that critical mass where it is growing, which is positive for the state.
Now hopefully all the new workers will choose to live in Cheyenne and not ft collins
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PorkerPoke
Well-known member
It was not that long ago Cheyenne had diddly squat for jobs that paid high enough above the poverty line to raise a family.
I grew up there and found all kinds of things to do year around. When you don’t know life without getting the standard Wyoming blow job each time you step outdoors you make the best of the seasons.
I left decades ago when my pay as a computer programmer for one of the “big” banks was only $20 a month more than the level for obtaining access to government assistance programs for a family of 3.
Using my Arts & Sciences degree from LCCC (which was identical to the UW degree for MIS without having to pay for dog crap humanities classes such as 18th century agnostic poets in Europe) I moved on to other parts of the country and wrote the very first successful microcomputer application for Uncle Sam back in the day when the PC was not deemed as a useful business tool.
My pay quickly became more than triple of what I was making in Cheyenne. I checked on my old position in Cheyenne in the late 90’s and found that while the salary had almost doubled it was still substantially lower than what I had been enjoying for nearly 20 years.
It’s not about bragging rights. My pay when I was able to locate in Denver certainly helped me buy nice seats at the War through generous CJC donations and I also sent my 2 children to UW and paid cash.
I was still fond of Cheyenne and being a Wyoming native. I did hear the crap talk from various parts of the state that despised Cheyenne. I liked to visit other locations in the state but found none I wanted to live so far away from airport access.
Bringing this back to sports and UW, Cheyenne played a huge role in attendance for football and especially basketball. I80 was a massive string of vehicles on game days when the program enjoyed success in the 80’s and 90’s. It played a huge role in putting over 10,000 in the AA for a weekday game when Fennis the Menace lit the cords and Jon Sommers was the enforcer who made teams pay for trying to stop Leckner.
I will say this - as a high school student not once did a representative from UW visit my high school only 45 miles away. We were expected to drive to Laramie and explore ourselves. My daughter graduated from UW and became a recruiter. The frustrating part of the job was following the orders of the administration with visits. Being sent to Lander when the HS there was having a big day (FFA?) and didn’t want a recruiter. I simply concluded UW ran like any government bureaucracy - give me money, spend it all and then say more is needed to do the job.
Whatever the case, calling any town in Wyoming a literal ugly dump and yet knowing there are die hard Cowboys fans all over the state that are critical to the financial success of the only D1 option shows the pull up the drawbridge mentality I encountered so often in my business dealings in Wyoming. Even as a Wyoming native, fishing in a region not close to your residence was often met with disdain by the locals.
