Two Greene County natives that went on to have notable lives recently came back to Greene County and shared their experiences with some high school students.

Julie Carlson is the public speaking instructor at Greene County High School and when she found out that Scranton High School graduate Bryce Paup, who played in the NFL in the 1990s, was coming back to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, she asked her childhood friend and Bryce’s wife Denise if they would be guest speakers in her class. 

Carlson says Denise put off her dream of owning a lifestyle business until she was in her 50s and still operates Sage in Cedar Falls with their daughters. Bryce talked about his difficulties he had to overcome in the classroom, the importance of hard work and positive self talk.  

Carlson talks about how impressed she was with her students.

“I was very pleased. I asked them to be very polite, I asked them to put their phones away, and I just said, ‘This is a big deal to have both of them come to class. I want you to take it as a very important honor to them, and represent your school well.’ As a teacher, it’s very seldom that the class is quiet for a long time. And how I know about (class) attention is that you could’ve heard a pin drop. Students were very captivated with what they had to say.”  

Bryce and Denise Paup live in Cedar Falls where Bryce is also the defensive line coach at his college alma mater of the University of Northern Iowa.