Erron Duncan was back where it all started.
The UC Davis senior was at Weston Ranch High on Friday, meeting with Principal Troy Fast along with his former teacher/coach Marcelo Zamarripa.
"He wants to give back his school," said Fast of the standout Cougars football player and four-year starter at safety for the Aggies of the Big Sky Conference.
A 2015 graduate of WRHS, Duncan has been successful in the classroom and campus life. He's on the tail-end of completing his major in Community & Regional Development, with a minor in Education.
As an on-campus leader, he's an Undergraduate Fellow for the UC Davis Transformative in Education Center and the Education Coordinator for the Coalition for African Diaspora Student Athletes.
But it's his work as the High School Outreach Coordinator for African Diaspora Cultivating Education — or ACE — that brought him back to his old stomping grounds.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duncan was able to expand the program past Yolo and Sacramento counties.
His specific area or community is with African American students. "There's seven different communities," Duncan said.
Zamarripa is the Black Student Union advisor at WRHS.
As the ACE High School Outreach Coordinator, Duncan will work with students at his alma mater in achieving education equity.
"When I first came to Davis, it wasn't too much of a culture shock. I knew what to expect. But I didn't know what resources were available to me back then," he said.
He plans to meet with WRHS students every two week in an effort to help them navigate their future college plans. "It's probably going to be virtual meetings," Duncan said.
He's preparing for the upcoming football season, training days a week outdoors and with uncertain air quality due to the nearby fires in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley.
"We're scheduled to play (football) in February — it's still being decided on the season," said Duncan. who plans to enroll in the UC Davis School of Education's teaching credential/master's program.
He's learning towards becoming a Math teacher.
Duncan hasn't ruled out playing football on Sundays "if the opportunity presents itself," he said.
"We're excited to have Erron here. He will bring his knowledge of college readiness and community outreach to our students," Fast said.
