Ryan Coogler once got 'crazy' advice from his college professor. He invited her to the Oscars — and she watched him win

The Oscars 2026 marked some well-deserved and impressive wins. Bagging 4 awards was the movie “Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, directed by Ryan Coogler. The latter also produced and wrote the film, and when he spoke of his win, he had to credit the place where it all began.

In a post shared by Variety on X, on March 16, the filmmaker credited one professor, Rosemary Graham, at his college, St. Mary’s. The woman made one statement when he was a student, and it pushed him to become the Oscar-winning artist he is today. It just echoes how important it is to have an educator who does more than teach textbooks.

Coogler mentioned that the film “Sinners” could someday be taught as part of the curriculum in film schools. This pushed him to go back to his own college days and share how the seed of filmmaking was sown in his heart.

He first acknowledged that the role of a professor is exceptionally tough. “I’m not smart enough to teach college. I have so much respect for professors,” he said. It also reminded him of one particular professor, Graham, who made it all happen.

According to St. Mary’s College, California, in the early 2000s, the then-teenage Coogler took up a creative writing course with the rest of his football teammates. 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he mentioned that he had an intense, emotional assignment to write. Graham wanted to check out the students’ writing skills. Coogler submitted his work and, to his surprise, received a call from the professor’s office.

“I thought I was in trouble for what I’d written, so I was a little nervous. Actually, I was really nervous,” he confessed.

When he walked into the room, the woman asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he mentioned he wanted to be a doctor. While Graham appreciated his dream, she then commented on his work and said, “You should think about becoming a writer instead of a doctor. Maybe you could even go to Hollywood and write screenplays.”

For Coogler, who had no idea of what a screenplay was back then, he thought she was “crazy.” But the professor’s words stuck with him.

He decided to check out things and went and got a DVD of “Pulp Fiction,” which included the screenplay. “I put it on my computer and saw a screenplay for the first time. I opened up Microsoft Word and tried to duplicate the physical structure of it, started doing my own script, and I really liked it,” he recounted.

From there, his passion for writing was rooted and grew. He later joined film school and refined his skills before making it in the film industry. Coogler never failed to let his professor know and give her due credit.

In a post shared by @gaelalumni, the artist brought his college professor as his guest to the National Board of Review awards. When asked how she knew he had something in him, she said, “It was all there in the writing. It was very cinematic.” “Her advice changed my life,” Coogler remarked.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, 51% of teachers say teaching is a hard job. 77% said the job was stressful, while 68% said it was overwhelming. And it’s partly because they have a greater role than just teaching. Just imagine the loss it would have been for cinema if Graham chose not to observe Coogler’s work and comment on it.

A 2010 survey revealed that 88% of American adults reported having a teacher who had “a significant, positive impact” on their life. 98% believed that a good teacher can change the life of a student.

According to Education Week, on average, a teacher affects and impacts 3,000 lives and careers, and Coogler proved these statements in one phrase, with an Oscar in hand. "I’m standing here in front of you guys because of a creative writing professor who read something I wrote,” he said.

Speaking of his win at the Oscars, the professor reiterated what she saw years ago in that assignment, according to KRON 4 News. “He knew how to tell a story, and the story involved a lot of visuals… It was almost like [there was] a camera in the room,” she said, adding, “Joy in Ryan’s accomplishment and joy in the world recognizing Ryan’s talent,” she remarked. 

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