Netflix star Brittany Wagner to visit Clinton

Special to The Clinton Courier

Brittany Wagner, star of Netflix docuseries Last Chance U, will be in Clinton on September 24 to speak to the Clinton Civitan Club from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., and will be at the Clinton High School Homecoming for a book signing from 7 until 8:30 p.m. that same day.

Wagner hails from Clinton and attended Samford University before earning her Bachelor’s degree in sports communication and her Master’s degree in sports administration from Mississippi State. After working four seasons as athletic academic counselor at MSU, she arrived at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) in 2008 to mentor junior college football and basketball players.

During her time with the three-time NJCAA National Champion Lions football squad, she helped over two hundred football players and over fifty men’s basketball athletes reach the next level. She garnered attention as the star of the NetFlix documentary series Last Chance U, which followed the interaction between her and the players at a school known for giving troublemakers their last chance at making it to the NFL.

Wagner is back to continue passing along her inspirational advice and motivation. According to Wagner, everyone faces disappointment and setbacks. Everyone makes mistakes and gets lost. No one ever consciously decides to be a failure, but no one is ever truly on their very last chance, either.

In Wagner’s new book, Next Chance You, the message is to focus on the next chance instead.

“Everyone receives new opportunities, chances to start fresh and leap forward,” said Wagner. “You just need to learn to recognize those opportunities and be willing to put in the time and effort to achieve them.”

In Next Chance You, anyone, from college students to CEOs, will find empowerment and inspiration, so they can slowly step away from the blame, excuses and doubt keeping them from pursuing their goals. Whether it’s looking for a new job, leaving a relationship, or deepening compassion for yourself and others, Wagner says she will help readers learn to be patient, push past fears, and become solution-oriented while working toward a second chance.

Wagner includes practical strategies for everyday use, empowering examples from her own life and those she’s counseled, and action items and tools to develop positive daily habits, overcome obstacles and improve mindset.

A nationally respected athletic academic counselor, professor of sport management and sport ethics at the University of Montevallo and motivational speaker with more than fifteen years of experience, Wagner is recognized for her compassion, encouragement, and no-nonsense attitude. She serves as mentor, mother and disciplinarian for her students and guides young athletes to academic and professional success despite run-ins with the law, extreme poverty, abandonment, and often a complete lack of academic preparedness.

Since becoming a breakout star, Wagner launched her own company, Ten Thousand Pencils (10KP), which works with high school and college-level administrators, counselors, and teachers to aid at-risk youth. 10KP teaches these professionals how to build lasting relationships with students and to better understand and support students’ emotional, social, and academic needs. In 2019, Wagner also launched a non-profit, called The Last Chance Foundation (LCF), through which she continues her work as an academic athletic counselor.

A new, scripted television series based on Brittany Wagner’s personal and professional life is in the making. Actress Courteney Cox will be portraying Wagner in this series. Michael Strahan is an executive producer on the project.