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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Since mid-January, the routine has been nearly the same for Garret Dooley. Four times a week, he has donned a dress shirt and tie and gone to work — leaving his apartment to the random "We'll see you later, Dad" catcall from roommates Troy Fumagalli, Jack Cichy and Joe Ferguson.
The "working man" smack was in good-natured fun and that's the way it was taken by Dooley, who served an internship this spring with Thrivent Financial. For three and one-half hours a day, he got a taste of "real-world" financial planning, advising and wealth management from the professionals.
"I was nervous at first; I didn't know what was going to happen or kind of what the job would entail," said the 22-year-old Dooley, a personal finance major from Rochester, Illinois. "But it was definitely a great semester and I learned a lot."
Beyond the standard intern-related assignments — "A lot of it is client and case prep and you're doing some of the busy work that the advisors want you to do" — Dooley got to sit in meetings where financial strategies were created for clients through life insurance, mutual funds and annuities.
"You try to help guide their way," he said.
That thought will have its own meaning for Dooley during Wisconsin's spring commencement, a four-year culmination of highs and lows whereby he found his way as a student-athlete. In the fall, Dooley will be a starting outside linebacker for the Badgers and working towards his masters.
"Honestly, I don't know what I'll be thinking," Dooley said of receiving his undergraduate degree Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. "Something that will go through my head is, 'I can't believe this time has come.' It has flown by and the real world is almost here already. That's what is crazy."
Getting a college education has always been important to Dooley, a priority dating all the way back to February of 2012 when he verbally committed to former UW coach Bret Bielema and defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Dooley, at the time, had a 4.0 GPA on an accelerated scale in high school.
"Academics come first," he said. "It was something my parents always forced on me."
In the end, it factored into his decision to choose Wisconsin over Illinois, Vanderbilt and Penn State. Dooley stayed true to his word — and the Badgers — even after Bielema and Ash left for Arkansas and were replaced by Gary Andersen as head coach and Dave Aranda as defensive coordinator.
It didn't take long, though, for his patience and perseverance to be tested. During the 2013 preseason training camp, Dooley sustained a dislocated knee in practice. That forced him to redshirt as a true freshman. In 2014, he didn't play at all which really challenged his resiliency, on and off the field.
"I'm not going to lie, my first year here was actually pretty rough," said Dooley, who had a role in three straight Class 4A state prep championships at Rochester. "It was hard to balance the athletics as well as the academics. And when I got hurt so early, it was something that messed me up mentally.
"Even though I was out for the next season, after having that year under my belt and having that experience, I was able to kind of balance myself out and get back on my feet. It has been steady going since then. But that first year was definitely a hurdle and I didn't catch my full stride until after it.
"Some people are able to catch on right away," he said. "It takes longer for others. College is just a lot different. In high school, it's not that hard to balance athletics and academics. But once you get here, it's a whole different story. You have to know what's important and how to designate your time.
"It definitely helps with the resources that we have here — the tutors, the mentors, that kind of stuff. Those people help a lot. They're here to help us throughout the whole process. I knew when to ask for help if I needed it. That's kind of the big thing … knowing when to ask."
Dooley knew that he had support at home ("My dad was someone who was always there if I wanted to call and talk about something") and from the upperclassmen. "Marcus Trotter was one of those guys," he said of the former UW inside linebacker. "His study habits were through the roof."
It was easy to follow Trotter's lead because that's just the way the process works here.
"This program is very strict when it comes to academics," said Dooley, speaking in essence to the unwritten rules that are passed down from class to class. "I think that's something that makes us a better football team. With being an athlete comes responsibility as well as leadership and discipline."
And that can be appealing for future employers outside of football.
"You've worked as a team your whole life," he said, "so when you get into the workforce, it's not going to be an individual effort, it's a team effort. When it comes to your job, whatever it is you're doing, you know that you can't blame it on someone else. You mess up, it's your fault, you own it."
Messing up can be a part of learning how to get the most out of an education. Dooley, like many other student-athletes before him, has discovered that it can often be a trial and error reality of balancing priorities and managing time.
"Number one, don't try and take shortcuts," he advised, "because ultimately you're going to end up having to re-do whatever you tried to do by taking that shortcut. It's going to hurt you in the long run. Also, no matter what happens, know that something better is going to be coming down the road."
Those words have application to sports competition, too. During his senior year of high school, Dooley was an all-state middle linebacker who led his team in tackles (132) and sacks (14.5). He also rushed for 1,436 yards and 32 touchdowns and was named the Player of the Year in his conference.
After two years of inactivity with the Badgers, he earned his first letter on special teams during the 2015 season. Still, few people were aware of his narrative until he surfaced last October as Vince Biegel's replacement at Michigan. Dooley had seven tackles in an auspicious first career start.
Biegel's foot injury provided Dooley with a golden opportunity to show what he could do if given consistent playing time at outside linebacker. And he took advantage of the reps. He also had seven tackles against Iowa and Nebraska and finished the season with 40 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
With the graduation loss of Biegel, a fourth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, and the early departure of T.J. Watt, a first-round choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dooley has been thrust into more of a leadership role as one of the edge rushers along with Leon Jacobs, another fifth-year senior.
Dooley is hoping to lead by example. As he has already by getting his degree in four years.
"The biggest thing is that football is for such a short period of time," he said. "It will be a hard pill to swallow (when he's done playing) whether it's next year or 10 years from now. But no matter what I do, whether financial advising, construction, whatever it is, once football is over, my life isn't."
