Up Close With Senior Travis Brown
Sep 10, 2002 | Football
Sept. 10, 2002
- by Doug Smith, Kansas State Sports Information Intern
For punter Travis Brown, there are not enough hours in the week to get everything done. If he is not attending classes or at a football function, he is probably either at the golf course or on Interstate 70 traveling home.
Home to Zion Lutheran Church in Prairie Village, where Brown has served as a youth leader for almost two years. During the off-season, Brown goes home on Wednesday and Friday nights for weeknight and weekend church functions.
"I make it back for youth ministry as much as I possibly can," Brown said.The senior enjoys connecting with the youth in the Kansas City area through his teaching of the Bible.
"What I like to do is break it down for them. We take maybe a chapter or two at a time and just talk about it in simple terms that they can understand and relate to," Brown said.
The senior punter seems to get a lot out of his youth ministry groups and is thrilled at the opportunity he has to visit with a number of different kids.
"I am not really picky about the age group, but it usually ranges from 7th-graders clear up to freshmen in college," Brown said.
He started this crusade initially to try and increase the attendance of a younger crowd at his church. Since then he has realized that it is not the number of people, but how many actually get the message.
"I usually average around 10 kids, but it can vary quite a bit," Brown said. "Some days there might be 17 and some days there might only be four."
Brown, an art major, also enjoys photography. In fact, when he first came to K-State he had hoped the university would soon add a photography program so he could specialize in something that he loved. Being around football most of his life, it seems that most of his photography has centered around football.
While he is not an expert photographer, it is something he still enjoys and would love to continue to find time for. He will have to balance that, however, with a few other hobbies.
"I like to dabble in the cooking realm every once in a while," Brown said. "It isn't gourmet by any means, I just like to experiment a little in the kitchen."
While still in high school, during a summer break the 6-foot-4, 215-pound kicker went on a quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
"I made so many chocolate chip cookies that summer," Brown said. "I was obsessed. I would make two or three batches a day."
Brown's newest passion is golf. He played just about every day this past summer when he was not either on the road or with his church group. Evidently, it wasn't enough for Brown, because for him shooting in the high 80s is unacceptable. He needs to be playing more to get that perfect swing.
"The game is still fairly new to me, but I enjoy the challenge that it presents," Brown said. "If I had my way I would be playing all the time, or at least at the range."
Brown has not really thought about playing on the PGA Tour, but he has put some thought into the National Football League.
"I always said that if I was ever lucky enough to make it to the NFL, I wouldn't play for more than two or three years," Brown said. "There's just too many other things I would like to do."
Too many other things are important to Brown. While he admits to being a less than perfect student, he is proud of the fact he is on track to graduate in the spring. He hopes at this point to possibly go to a seminary school in Kansas City following his graduation.
Maybe it is a side-effect of having two older sisters, but he is a very passionate person. Brown views things differently, much like looking through the lens of the camera.
Whether it be football, golf, photography, his faith or the culinary delights, Brown seems to know how to focus and is passionate about everything he does.
