Junior year is often labeled as “the most difficult year of high school.” It is a time of big decisions, enormous pressure, and difficult classes. However for SDHS alumni Josh Cox, it was the year that changed his life.
This was the year that he met former SDHS teacher, Mrs. Karen Mitchell in her Business Marketing class. “This class and her teaching just clicked for me. It was the foundation of many business strategies that I took into my career. And she also expressed genuine concern and entered me to do well for myself.”
Cox took the lessons learned through Mitchell’s class with him years after graduation in 2005. After graduating, he worked his way up the corporate ladder of American Eagle, progressing from store manager, area manager, district manager, and eventually landing him the position of Regional training manager which covered the central US in just over a decade. Through his hard work and dedication, he was able to travel to places like Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines. He now calls Amsterdam, Netherlands his home, but Soddy Daisy will always hold a special place in his heart for him because of his family whom he still travels to see.
Although Cox is well-established and has the opportunity to travel the world with American eagles, he worked hard for it. “As a young gay man, I definitely felt disadvantaged and was working against a lot of judgment, which only made me work harder.” Despite his challenges through his life, he pursued his passion for work and traveling, filling out multiple passports along the way.
Cox is unsure of where his future will take him, whether it be traveling to more countries along with the forty that are currently in his passport, but he is excited for what’s ahead. It is an honor to have the distinguished Josh Cox in participation at the Soddy Daisy High School Hall of Fame ceremony and he continues to be an inspiration to all students who came before and after him.
