Video: Last Chance U Impacting Lives Locally And Globally

SCOOBA, Miss. (WCBI) – We know them as one of the best community colleges in the nation. Now, the rest of the world is getting to know East Mississippi Community College.

The school is making a name for itself, and it’s all because of a Netflix Documentary series called Last Chance U.

It showcases EMCC and the 2015 football season.

The series came out July 29th, and has been in the headlines ever since. It’s a show that leaves everyone wanting more.

Producers invite the world for an inside look at the lives of EMCC employees and students, and also gives an unfiltered view into their national titled championship football program.

It shows how football players overcome obstacles, and how their coaches and teachers help them do it.

Last Chance U.  A second chance at school,  and at life.

“I’m just an athletic academic counselor from Mississippi, like you know, I have rarely ever been told thank you so, for doing this job, so to go to bed on Thursday night, and feeling like that, and kind of wondering, I wonder how people will take it. You know, there’s that whole anticipation leading up to it coming out. Are people going to like it? How’s Mississippi going to feel about it? How is Scooba going to feel about it? How’s the world going to feel about it?”

Judging by the buzz , viewers feel inspired. EMCC Athletic Academic Advisor Brittany Wagner is one reason why.

“These relationships, there’s an Ollie in every group. There’s a D.J. Law in every group. There’s guys that I form an unbelievable bond with, and I cry my eyes out every time, so it’s a story that just reoccurs every year.”

Wagner’s motherly relationship with the football players is seen in every episode, along with the impact she has on their lives.

“Putting aside the judgement. Meeting them where they’re at. Letting them talk, you know, I mean there’s a lot of scenes in this show where they were not talking about academics. We’re not talking about anything, you know, we’re just there, just in there talking, but I think in those moments, that’s where the relationships are being built because it’s in those moments, where they see that I’m human.”

EMCC’s Head Coach Buddy Stephens is well known in football circles. The series gives him a chance to watch his own film to correct bad plays, like he does with players on the field.

“In the 2 to 3 months after the season, and right after the documentary came out, I had the opportunity to counsel with a lot of different people, and it’s really, it really hit me that from the time I was 11 years old,  I’ve never accepted Christ as my Savior, and that was something that for me was truly, if nothing comes out of this documentary, I’ve got a you know, I’ve a got a different relationship with the Lord, and I feel good about that.”

Stephens and Wagner know they have the chance to use the series to make a brighter future.

“We have a very, very good platform. An excellent platform. What a gift we’ve been given. An excellent platform to improve, to teach from, and to get better with, and that’s really, and this documentary has really given us that,” says Stephens.

For viewers, Last Chance U is an emotional roller coaster with wins and losses, and the next chapter waiting to be written.

Coming up on Tuesday, we’ll take a look at the impact of this series in a town of 700,  and what it means going forward to EMCC, Scooba, and Mississippi.