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Meet Sara Coker

Note: This Q&A originally appeared in the Winter/Spring 2021 issue of FOCUS magazine

Many members of the Maryville College community had the opportunity to meet Sara Coker on Feb. 13, 2020, when the Coker family came to campus for the official introduction of Dr. Bryan Coker as the College’s 12th president. The COVID-19 pandemic hit soon after – and still was affecting our nation when the Coker family moved to Maryville last summer – making it difficult to plan events and other opportunities to get to know the family of six.

To help Maryville College’s constituents learn more about the College’s First Lady, we sent Sara Coker a list of questions – answers to which are printed below.

Photo of Sara Coker

FOCUS: Where did you grow up?

SBC: I was born in Houston, Texas, but spent a majority of my childhood in Louisiana – both north and south Louisiana.

FOCUS: What is your educational background?

SBC: I graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School and received a B.A. in business from Rhodes College. I received my MBA from the University of Tennessee, as a member of the first cohort in their professional MBA program. 

FOCUS: What is your professional background?

SBC: My professional background is largely in healthcare. I spent a few years in health insurance and then moved to strategic planning for hospitals. Since 2001, I have been at home with our children.

FOCUS: How and where did you meet Bryan? How long have you been married?

SBC: Bryan and I met our junior year at Rhodes College, in an introduction to sociology class. We were married in Baton Rouge, La., in a July wedding a year after we graduated. This July, we will have been married for 25 years.

FOCUS: How are you similar to Bryan? How are you different from Bryan?

SBC: We are both passionate people who love nothing more than helping others. We have shown this through fixing up old homes for new owners, and loving and housing children from Afghanistan for six weeks each summer. Where we differ in our personal lives is that I am a serious planner – I love making lists, itineraries for trips, menus, etc. Bryan’s typically all “planned out” by the time he gets home.

FOCUS: Tell us something interesting about you that people might not know.

SBC: I competed in gymnastics at the 1989 AAU Junior Olympics, San Antonio, Texas. 

FOCUS: What do you consider your greatest achievement(s) to be?

SBC: Our family has one extra “son” and two “daughters” in Afghanistan, from our work with Solace for the Children. Our lives were changed for the better having known them, and I believe we impacted their lives and their health in a positive way. While we may never see them again, it is my hope that we provided them with love, healthcare and a glimpse at how an American family can take them in and love them as their own. 

FOCUS: What are your hobbies?

SBC: I enjoy cooking for our family – I try to introduce some of my childhood favorites from Louisiana, in hopes they will acquire a taste for Louisiana cuisine. I also enjoy hiking with my family. Since moving back to East Tennessee, we try to have a family outing/hike each Sunday afternoon. We try to explore a new place each time. 

FOCUS: Your family has lived in several different cities. What are some of your favorite things about Maryville?

SBC: I love the slower pace of life, not just for me but also for our children. Also, the sense of community is felt everywhere. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. It is obvious they love where they live and are so proud of the city of Maryville and all it has to offer. 

FOCUS: As the spouse of the president, what will be your role with the College?

SBC: I want to do whatever I can to support the campus community, especially the students. I have always enjoyed getting to know the students Bryan has worked with over the years, and I want to continue that. I also want to join Bryan in spreading the word about MC and generating all the additional support we can.

FOCUS: The community of Maryville: what do you hope to become involved in?

SBC: I hope to become involved in any way, where I can help to make a difference in the community and lives of people in the community. My most recent community involvement was Food 4 Thought in Baltimore County. We provided backpacks of food to food-insecure students in the school system, to give them meals over the weekend, when school was not in session.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”