Colin Goodfellow says he applied to UK specifically because it was the only university in the country he could find where he could both play football and graduate from a widely respected nursing school.
Recent University of Kentucky graduate Colin Goodfellow is the first student in UK history to play football while earning a nursing degree. In a recent article published by UK, Goodfellow says he has opted to stay at UK for an additional year, using an NCAA rule that allows an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, while completing an independent study course on high performance brain functioning. Goodfellow praised the university for allowing him to prioritize his education while serving as a punter on the football team.
Goodfellow decided he wanted to be a nurse at the age of twelve after a surgery on his ankles. He recounted how the team of nurses that helped him post surgery and the impact it had: "As a sixth grader, it's tough to never have had surgery and to wake up in an environment you're not used to. And to wake up to people who really care about you and want you to be safe and healthy is pretty cool."
When it was time to pick a college, Goodfellow researched universities where he could both play football and earn a nursing degree from a highly-ranked program. "I wanted to be a nurse, so I looked up the best nursing schools — UK was at the top of the list. It's the only school in the country that let me do nursing and football at the same time. And I was the first one to do it," he said.
Always prioritizing academics before sports, Goodfellow said he utilized tutoring services in his freshman year to help him manage his time, and staff from the football team helped him with scheduling so that he could complete clinical work. Goodfellow noted the spirit of teamwork he found both in football and nursing. "There's a lot of similarity between a nursing staff and a football team. I can't do it without my snapper. In nursing, everyone works together because you don't know what's going to happen next."
Although Goodfellow graduated in May 2021, he has stayed at UK for an additional year to play football, thanks to a special rule enacted by the NCAA for student athletes affected by COVID-19 that allows for an additional year of college sports eligibility. Goodfellow is focusing academically on graduate-level coursework where he is examining high performance brain functioning. He plans on continuing his education to become a nurse anesthetist.