Thomas Simmons graduated from St. Thomas in 2005 with a degree in accounting. Now, years later, he returned to his alma mater for a showing of his film Coyote: The Mike Plant Story.
The film follows the story of Mike Plant, Simmons’ late uncle, who sailed solo across the world after being inspired by a sailing documentary. It features the highs and lows of entering international sailing competitions, raising money to build a sailboat and spending time alone at sea.
“I’m just enamored with the duality going on in this person’s life, and how it applies to all of us,” Simmons said in a question-and-answer segment after the showing.
Simmons was 10 when his uncle was lost at sea. He said he didn’t know a lot about his uncle’s story until college, when he started asking his family questions.
“I dwell on why Mike Plant’s important, which is his legacy, and just an example of somebody who wasn’t afraid to take a risk,” Simmons said.
Simmons said he was inspired by his uncle’s courage to explore the challenges and lows of life.
“We find a way, hopefully, like Mike did, (to) leave that stuff behind and shoot for the positive,” Simmons said.
Simmons took a leap of his own by leaving the world of investment banking to work on this documentary at the same age his uncle saw the film that inspired him to sail around the world.
“People that I worked with were like, ‘You’re crazy. Why are you doing that? That’s so stupid,’” Simmons said.
Simmons said despite the times he “hit a wall creatively,” he was inspired by his uncle enough to power through.
“I think the magic sauce is, if you’re passionate about the subject you’re telling, you will most likely prevail,” Simmons said.
Angeline Terry can be reached at Terr2351@stthomas.edu.