When Drew Mueller graduated from Iola High School in 2009 and headed to Kansas State University in Manhattan, he thought hed left Iola for good. His hometown was dying and would soon be a ghost town, he thought. He planned on becoming an athletic trainer and figured hed end up in a city that had several sports teams.
But things change. Plans change.
And Iola changed.
So Drew has come back home, ready to reclaim his roots, establish a career and start a family. Hes married now to wife Brie. And, instead of becoming an athletic trainer, hes a physical therapist at Allen County Regional Hospital.
For the most part, Drews family ties pulled the young couple to Iola. But, also, hes been impressed by the changes hes seen in the city since he graduated from high school. Hes intrigued by the work of Thrive Allen County and other groups, particularly in their efforts to make the city a destination for bicycling and other activities.
He and Brie see a community fighting against the rising tide of health and economic problems so common to southeast Kansas. Theyre excited about the future of Iola. And they want to be part of it.
It helps that Iolas been trying to bring in new things with the trails and the new hospital, Drew said. Its hard to turn down being on the upswing of a town.
DREW AND BRIE met at the wedding of a mutual friend and started dating in 2014. They were married Nov. 18, 2017.
Drew, the son of Tom and Carla Mueller, grew up on a farm between Iola and Humboldt with two brothers and a sister. Like most high school students who grow up in a small town, he was eager to explore the world outside Allen County. He picked K-State partly because he was able to walk on the football team as a defensive back and because the school was a safe distance from home far enough away and different enough to challenge him, but still be just a two-and-a-half hour drive from family.
I think its good to learn more about yourself and explore whats out there. I think its fairly common to go away and chase down your dreams, Drew said. I talk to high schoolers who just want to leave and go several states away, and I would never tell them not to do that.
Bries story is similar. She grew up in Marys-ville, a city of around 3,000 in north-central Kansas. She graduated from high school in 2010 and headed to the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
When I was a senior, I wanted to get out of a small town because everybody knows everything about everybody. I really thought I wanted to live in a bigger city. I lived in Lawrence six years, Brie said. Your relationships dont feel as deep as they are in a small town. Theres just something about a small town that makes me feel like Im home.
As Drew learned more about athletic training he became concerned the demands of such a career would make it difficult to raise a family. As a high school athlete, he also had been injured his senior year and knew the benefits of physical therapy. Those two facts led him to change his focus from athletic trainer to physical therapist, a field that not only would offer a better lifestyle but also still allow him to help people stay active.
DREW SAID its not uncommon for physical therapists to be former athletes.
Its almost a mantra for physical therapists: We got hurt so now we want to help other people, he said.
