Alumni Spotlight: Arron Cochran

LEON VALLEY, TX—Arron Cochran came to UMA in the fall of 2008 wanting to play college basketball and earn his bachelor’s degree.  Cochran achieved so much more.  He served as captain of the basketball team and was a mentor for his teammates.  Cochran committed to helping other out-of-state athletes feel at home at UMA.  Knowing what it means to pack up and move across the country, he helped others understand what to expect.  Often, Coach Laney would ask Cochran to speak to out-of-state recruits for the women’s team as well.  “Arron was always willing to help in any way he could,” said Coach Laney.  “He always provided an honest picture of what an out-of-state student-athlete should expect if they came to UMA.  He was, and still is, truly an asset for the entire Moose program.” 

In addition to his role as team captain, Cochran worked with admissions as an Ambassador.  He was a dean’s list student who volunteered in the Student Life office and was a community service leader.  In the spring of 2013, Arron graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Cochran has moved back to his home state of Texas and is working at Career Point College as a High School Program Coordinator.  He provides guidance and support to students enrolled in high school; he encourages these students to have a positive attitude toward education. Cochran helps the students develop positive relationships with peers, parents, teachers, and families.  Arron helps students build skills such as coping strategies, interaction skills, managing personal concerns, working through crises and school-related problems, and any other issue that interferes with learning.

Reflecting on his time at UMA, Cochran says his favorite part of being a student-athlete was to be a part of a team.  “We weren’t just a team, we were a brotherhood of men who forged a lifetime bond,” says Cochran on his teammates. “The guys on the team quickly became my brothers. Being a student-athlete is so strenuous, you have to have a support system and I was far away from my support system; my family. UMA quickly became my family. I had a chance to meet wonderful people as a student athlete who cared, not only about me but about my education as well. The things I learned while at UMA as a student-athlete didn’t leave me when I left Maine, it's something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. What I learned definitely has translated into how I carry myself today. I will always and forever be a Moose who didn’t only get a chance at an education, but I became a member of UMA’s lifetime brotherhood.”