Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Where Are They Now? - Sheridan Andrews-Cook
1/26/2020 6:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Basketball came easy to Sheridan (Andrews) Cook, though her path to playing at Florida Atlantic University was far from it.
A star recruit out of Havana, Florida, Cook planned to join the Owls immediately after high school in 1995. But she didn't have the requisite test scores.
Disappointed but determined to eventually get to FAU, Cook signed with Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
After two years there, Cook thought her wait was over. She was ready to be an Owl. An academic issue, however, held her back again. Cook transferred to Tallahassee Community College in 1997 to resolve it.
That's when the value of education truly resonated with her.
"I realized it's not just a cakewalk; I really have to study and focus and get this done," Cook said. "I knew that I wanted to graduate from college, and I knew I wanted to continue to play basketball, and my made my mind up that I was going to get it done."
In 1998, Cook made her long-awaited move to FAU.
Cook stood out on the court, earning All-TAAC First Team honors in 2000, but that didn't satisfy her alone – not anymore.
She realized becoming the first of her parents' six children to graduate from college was equally important. And in the summer of 2000, Cook did exactly that, earning a bachelor's degree in social work.
"To prove to myself that I can do that, it was so great," Cook said.
A month after graduating, Cook moved to New Jersey with her soon-to-be husband Akbar Cook, a native New Jerseyan she met at FAU.
Mrs. Cook looked for a social work job upon the move, but changed course after watching her husband work with children as a teacher. The impact Mr. Cook made in the classroom inspired Mrs. Cook to follow suit.
Now entering her 19th year in the profession (teaching grades 2-7 over her career), Sheridan imparts the values of self-determination and perseverance she needed in coming to FAU more than two decades ago.
"Children sometimes think that teachers are superheroes, and that they know everything," she said. "And that they – No. They don't know everything. We learn together: some things you all teach me, and some things I teach you. We're never done learning. We learn every day of our lives, and we should strive to learn something new every day."
The Cook family's passion for helping children didn't end with teaching.
In the summer of 2016, Akbar created the Lights On program at West Side High School. The goal: providing children a safe place to stay from 6-11 p.m., hours in which police told him they are susceptible to crime.
Through the program, Akbar planned to offer indoor activities – basketball, sewing, board games, etc. – and a hot meal. There was no question who'd provide the latter: his wife, whose cooking he loved from the onset of their relationship.
"That's how I got my husband," Sheridan said, with a hearty laugh.
In year four as head chef and kitchen manager of Lights On, Sheridan serves as many as 350 meals a night during the school year, when the program runs once a week (on Fridays). In the summer, when it runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she serves an average of 400.
The program is garnering national attention: Akbar appeared on the Ellen show to promote it twice, and Oprah Winfrey visited the school earlier this year to donate $500,000.
The Lights On website states its 2,500 volunteers have served 20,000 children and provided 600 "hours of safe activities keeping kids alive" since its inception.
Those are numbers that Sheridan, who once stuffed the stat sheet as a FAU basketball player, can get behind.
"I know that it's not just talk; it's action," Sheridan said. "And we could see it getting done, and we could see that it's helping."
A star recruit out of Havana, Florida, Cook planned to join the Owls immediately after high school in 1995. But she didn't have the requisite test scores.
Disappointed but determined to eventually get to FAU, Cook signed with Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
After two years there, Cook thought her wait was over. She was ready to be an Owl. An academic issue, however, held her back again. Cook transferred to Tallahassee Community College in 1997 to resolve it.
That's when the value of education truly resonated with her.
"I realized it's not just a cakewalk; I really have to study and focus and get this done," Cook said. "I knew that I wanted to graduate from college, and I knew I wanted to continue to play basketball, and my made my mind up that I was going to get it done."
In 1998, Cook made her long-awaited move to FAU.
Cook stood out on the court, earning All-TAAC First Team honors in 2000, but that didn't satisfy her alone – not anymore.
She realized becoming the first of her parents' six children to graduate from college was equally important. And in the summer of 2000, Cook did exactly that, earning a bachelor's degree in social work.
"To prove to myself that I can do that, it was so great," Cook said.
A month after graduating, Cook moved to New Jersey with her soon-to-be husband Akbar Cook, a native New Jerseyan she met at FAU.
Mrs. Cook looked for a social work job upon the move, but changed course after watching her husband work with children as a teacher. The impact Mr. Cook made in the classroom inspired Mrs. Cook to follow suit.
Now entering her 19th year in the profession (teaching grades 2-7 over her career), Sheridan imparts the values of self-determination and perseverance she needed in coming to FAU more than two decades ago.
"Children sometimes think that teachers are superheroes, and that they know everything," she said. "And that they – No. They don't know everything. We learn together: some things you all teach me, and some things I teach you. We're never done learning. We learn every day of our lives, and we should strive to learn something new every day."
The Cook family's passion for helping children didn't end with teaching.
In the summer of 2016, Akbar created the Lights On program at West Side High School. The goal: providing children a safe place to stay from 6-11 p.m., hours in which police told him they are susceptible to crime.
Through the program, Akbar planned to offer indoor activities – basketball, sewing, board games, etc. – and a hot meal. There was no question who'd provide the latter: his wife, whose cooking he loved from the onset of their relationship.
"That's how I got my husband," Sheridan said, with a hearty laugh.
In year four as head chef and kitchen manager of Lights On, Sheridan serves as many as 350 meals a night during the school year, when the program runs once a week (on Fridays). In the summer, when it runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she serves an average of 400.
The program is garnering national attention: Akbar appeared on the Ellen show to promote it twice, and Oprah Winfrey visited the school earlier this year to donate $500,000.
The Lights On website states its 2,500 volunteers have served 20,000 children and provided 600 "hours of safe activities keeping kids alive" since its inception.
Those are numbers that Sheridan, who once stuffed the stat sheet as a FAU basketball player, can get behind.
"I know that it's not just talk; it's action," Sheridan said. "And we could see it getting done, and we could see that it's helping."
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