Against all odds: Ferguson College senior balances fatherhood, college and military service
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
As juniors at Oklahoma State University and with a baby on the way, Connor Colby and his wife, Maliah, had to make some tough decisions about their future.
Looking for stability, Colby turned to his country for support, he said.
His father, Brian Colby, serves in the U.S. Air Force, following generations of men before him.
“I have never endorsed the military or pushed any of my children to join,” Brian Colby said. “When Connor called me, I asked him if he had been talking to his brother.”
Independent of one another, Connor Colby and his younger brother, Jake, called their father on the same day to say they wanted to join the Air Force. Brian recommended they enlist in the Air National Guard, he said.
To remain on track to graduate in Spring 2025, Connor Colby completed basic training in Fall 2023, followed by three months of technical training.
Majoring in biosystems engineering with a pre-medical focus and a passion for electronics, Connor Colby spent his three months of technical training learning avionics.
Avionics refers to the electronic systems used in aviation. As an avionics technician, Connor Colby designs, programs, and maintains the electrical systems in aircraft.
When Connor Colby left for basic training, his and Maliah Colby’s son, Cayson, was 2 months old.
Maliah Colby, a full-time student in business administration, moved her studies online to stay on track for graduation in Spring 2025.
After completing his technical training, Connor Colby hoped to push his two months of on-the-job training until Summer 2023, he said, so he could continue his education at OSU. However, plans changed. Faced with this challenge, Connor Colby asked his professors to work with him, he added.
“When I got the call to do on-the-job training, I weighed postponing my studies a semester, but to continue my current degree plan, I would have had to wait another year to do the prerequisite courses,” Connor Colby said. “Otherwise, I would have to take my yearlong capstone class at the same time. I did not want to sacrifice a year for a semester’s worth of work.”
He had four classes to complete during the Spring 2023 semester to graduate on time. To devise a plan, Connor Colby worked with his academic adviser, Kevin Moore, OSU biosystems and agricultural engineering assistant professor.
After Connor Colby communicated his dilemma to his professors and with Moore advocating for him, his professors agreed to publish their lectures and homework online.
Some of the classes Connor Colby took also had a laboratory component.
At 9 p.m. on the night Connor Colby could drop all his classes and get a full refund, he received a call from the biosystems and agricultural engineering department head, Mari Chinn.
Although supportive, Chinn wanted to ensure he would be successful, he said, so they discussed allowing him to fulfill 40 hours a week in Tulsa and only be in class one day a week to complete his in-person work. Connor Colby told Chinn this was something he knew he could do.
To meet his course requirements, Connor Colby traveled from Tulsa, where he was completing his on-the-job training Monday through Thursday, to Stillwater to finish any lab work on Fridays. Connor Colby then spent the weekends with his wife and son.
“Connor had proven to be a dedicated and focused student,” Moore said. “He also did
not leverage his situation to gain special treatment. He has worked hard for everything
he has
ever done.
“He doesn’t complain when challenges arise,” Moore said. “He just works harder.”
With his professors and department investing in him, he knew he couldn’t let them down, he said.
“It was frustrating to know that my family wasn’t going to have my presence for a lot of the time,” Connor Colby said. “Knowing that my wife was a full-time student and taking care of a kid pretty much by herself because I would only be home on the weekends kind of ate away at me and was just challenging to grapple with.”
His frustration and guilt went away with encouragement from his family and teachers, Connor Colby said. The plan took a lot of hard work and dedication. However, no matter how hard it got, failure was not an option, he added.
“I have seen him exhausted, but his strong sense of responsibility drives him,” Moore said.
Connor Colby kept an open line of communication with not only his professors but also with everyone in his life, he said.
By communicating others, they knew the situation, so they could help him. Most of the help he received came as motivation from his family and professors, Connor Colby added.
By going through the Air National Guard program, Connor Colby had only three months to meet all the training tasks an active-duty member would have more time to complete, said Master Sgt. Harry Hannah with the U.S. Air National Guard 138th Fighter Wing.
Connor Colby’s days were spent completing his training tasks, Hannah added, and he stayed up late at night to finish his homework.
Throughout Moore’s career, he has seen many dedicated students, he said, but Connor Colby is dedicated at a higher level in achieving his goals.
Though Connor Colby will act like what he did is the same as any other college student, not many would have been able to handle the stress and finish with all A’s, Moore said.
“I haven’t been impressed by anyone like him in a long time,” Hannah said. “He has a lot of resilience and guts to pull off what he did in the time that he was completing his training. He came through the struggle without falling apart. That alone is what is impressive about him.”
Connor Colby is a prime example of how much a person can accomplish with hard work and a determined mindset, Hannah said.
“Every week, I would tell him that I was proud of him, not because of the things that he has done but because of the person he is on the inside,” Brian Colby said.
Story by Hartley Silva | Cowboy Journal