By: Kaecen Paden  

After nearly 30 years in education, Terry Rogers is preparing to walk away from the classroom for the first time in his life. At 61, Rogers said it will be strange not to return to school in the fall as he’s done his entire life, but he isn’t just retiring. Instead, Rogers is stepping into a new role as a pastor, following what he describes as a spiritual calling.  

“I’m giving up all 60 years of education, career, and all that,” Rogers said. “So it’s pretty important.”  

Rogers’ journey into teaching started long before Casper College.  Growing up on a farm, he knew early on that his future would take a different direction.  

“I knew I was not cut out to be a farmer,” Rogers said. “So anything but farming was on the table.”  

Inspired by the great people in his school as a student, Rogers found his passion for teaching and path in communication, speech, and theater. Over the years, teaching became more than just a job, it became a part of his identity.  

“What keeps me motivated is the students. Especially the ones who get it, who want to be there and want to learn,” Rogers said.  

For Rogers, the most meaningful moments weren’t the most immediate ones, instead they came later and often unexpectedly. 

“The most meaningful part of teaching is when a student comes back later and says something about how important the class was to them,” Rogers said. “It’s not about recognition for me, it’s about knowing they internalized something.”  

The way Rogers cared about students was noticeable to not only them, but to the people he worked with every day as well.  

Douglas Hall, a coworker who worked with Rogers for 13 years, described him as someone whose presence shapes the entire environment around him.  

““He is, without question, the most generous and kind person I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” Hall said via email. “Terry has a way of making people feel at ease.”  

According to Hall, Rogers’ approach to teaching went further than just delivering the content.  

In an email, Hall said, “He understood that teaching is about people. It is about helping students grow, building their confidence, and making them feel seen.”  

This ability to connect with others is often what helps Rogers’ transition into becoming a pastor feel so natural.  

“When I heard Terry was planning to become a pastor, it made perfect sense to me,” Hall wrote. “It felt less like a career change and more like a continuation of who he already is.”  For Rogers, that transition began during an unexpected time during COVID.  

“We were doing the online teaching stuff,” Rogers said. “I just woke up one day and felt like there was a need, a call.” 

What originally started as an idea to serve as an interim pastor travelling the states, eventually turning into something more permanent. After researching and working towards ordination, Rogers is now stepping into an executive pastor role that he believes will fit his skills well.  

“Everything I do is very relational,” Rogers said. “This pastor job ties just so closely to what I’ve been doing here with the communication courses that I teach.”  

Hall explained that this transition isn’t just a loss for Rogers, but for the whole campus. 

“The college will lose a deeply caring teacher, a steady colleague, and someone who helped make this place feel more humane and connected,” Hall wrote.  

Over the years, Rogers built his career centered around integrity and care for others. He focused on not just preparing students for the classroom, but for life beyond.  

“I think it would just be so awful to spend the money and the time to get a degree and then not be employable,” Rogers said. “So I make sure that we are teaching things that add value to the life of students.”  

These same values are what he wants to carry into his work as a pastor, where he hopes to focus on the connection and community within the church.  

“Instead of separate departments, I want to create more unified opportunities for people to connect and work together,” Rogers said.  

As he prepares for this transition, Rogers admitted there are moments of uncertainty. 

“I have doubts every day,” Rogers said. “It’s in my nature though to be like that. Am I good enough? I mean, that’s a question that holds me back a lot.”  

For someone who spent decades guiding others, the steps ahead feel more like a continuation rather than a departure.  

As he prepares to leave Casper College behind, Rogers’ impact won’t disappear. It will continue within the students, his colleagues, and now a new community he’s about to serve.  

Before he steps into this next chapter and community, Rogers leaves his students with one final piece of advice.  He said, “Learn everything you can, because you don’t know what you don’t know.”