Tales of inspiration, success found on campus at Bryant & Stratton
A walk around the athletics department of Bryant & Stratton College will likely produce some tremendously inspiring examples of people overcoming adversity and striving for success. The following are two stories shared by the Bobcats about Jordan Bierdemann fight with cancer and Caitlyn Coffey's recognition for outstanding achievements.
Jordan Bierdemann's 'positive mindset' helps him overcome cancer diagnosis
MILWAUKEE — Life offers everyone challenges and no one knows this better than Jordan Bierdemann, who has battled cancer for the last six months.
Cancer is an awful disease, and it's terrible for everyone involved. The same could be said for Bierdemann, whose baseball career was halted because of it.
Bierdemann was a member of the Bryant & Stratton baseball team for two seasons and struck out 27 batters in 31⅓ innings of work.
"I wish I could spend four years at Bryant & Stratton," Bierdemann said. "I absolutely loved it. My sophomore year, the whole team was one family."
Bierdemann committed to the Morningside Mustangs following his sophomore season and everything seemed to be going well for the right-hander. However, two weeks before leaving for school, he played a round of golf and knew something was wrong.
"I started to get a migraine, but I've had migraines in the past and I didn't think anything of it," Bierdemann said. "But I felt something was off in my stomach and on hole seven, like the snap of a finger, I got a shooting pain in my stomach. I thought it was an appendix or something."
His pain was too much to bear and he had to stop playing. He also had his grandmother's birthday that day and wanted to spend time with her, but he was in too much pain to do that. Bierdemann's dad knew something was wrong and immediately took him to the emergency room.
"I got a CT scan to see if it was what was happening or some of my stomach and at the very bottom of the scan," Bierdemann said. "They got half of my testicle in there, and they saw [something was wrong]. They also saw my lymph nodes were enlarged and … and the doctor said, 'From what I see from the CT scan and what I felt, I believe it's testicular cancer.'"
It was devastating news for someone in the midst of pursuing his dream of playing baseball.
"When he said that, I couldn't form a sentence," Bierdemann said. "I was completely speechless."
Bierdemann had surgery a couple of days later after receiving his diagnosis, but his battle would face another obstacle.
"Maybe two months later, out of nowhere, they mentioned it was stage three," Bierdemann said. "My family and I were surprised, but thank God everything was working and chemo was doing its job."
After 28 sessions of chemotherapy treatment, he announced he was cancer free on Feb. 7.
"It was very emotional for my family … but I just tried to be as mentally tough because I knew it would help them," Bierdemann said. "I also love David Goggins. I've read both of his books and that completely changed my mindset on life, pitching [and everything in general]."
With a renewed mindset and a positive outlook for his health, Bierdemann is ready to get on the baseball field again. He recently started lifting and will be preparing for next season at Morningside.
"I did have a scholarship going to my college in Iowa, and I've been talking to the coaches and it doesn't seem like anything is going to change," Bierdemann said. "I'm planning to go to my school in August."
Bierdemann has had a difficult journey and knows he and his family have been through a lot. But with another season of baseball on the horizon, he is looking forward to the challenges and being an inspiration to others who are going through difficult times.
"You're going to walk through life and you really will not have the answers," Bierdemann said. "There's no reason that this happens to you or your family members. It happens. You just put your faith in God, and everyone goes through stuff … you have to have a positive mindset going through it."
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Caitlyn Coffey named notable woman in sports
MILWAUKEE — Bryant & Stratton College's Senior Athletic Advisor, Caitlyn Coffey, was named one of the BizTimes Notable Women in Sports on Monday.
Coffey has helped numerous athletes succeed in the classroom and is still helping plenty. It's great to see all her hard work recognized.
Bryant & Stratton is lucky to have her, and she knows that any athlete who comes here has a great chance to grow as an athlete and a person.
"I think it really helps the majority of the kids grow up," Coffey said. "If they are listening to people and working with the people around them, I think they really leave here better and stronger people than when they came here."
From BizTimes:
Caitlyn Coffey, athlete success coordinator at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee, has been serving student-athletes for the past six years.
"Having played basketball and volleyball her entire life, Caitlyn has a complete understanding of what is involved to achieve in a sport and the classroom," said Carole Barnum, vice president at Barnum Travel. "Caitlyn takes great satisfaction in the success of her student-athletes, by their growth in the community as well as on the court/field."
Coffey earned a bachelor's degree in public relations and advertising from DePaul University while playing Division I volleyball.
"She had to maintain a certain level grade point as a student-athlete. This experience is now shared with her students," Barnum said.