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Honors Program

The Road Less Traveled

Kris, as she prefers to be called, forged an unconventional path in her career and her life, overcoming both personal and institutional barriers along the way.

The Honors Program was thrilled to welcome back one of our distinguished alumni at this year’s annual Banquet & Ball.

Retired Brigadier General Sharla J. “Kris” Cook is a patriot, a breast cancer survivor, and a proud veteran. She has jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, run white water rapids, and always carried her own backpack.

Kris, as she prefers to be called, forged an unconventional path in her career and her life, overcoming both personal and institutional barriers along the way. Kris joined the ranks of the U.S. Air Force at a time when career military options were severely limited for women. She pioneered as one of the first women in the aircraft maintenance field, and commanded the largest technical training wing in the Air Force. Her responsibilities included the technical training and health care training of approximately 40,000 Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps students each year, along with another 50,000 studies worldwide through the wing’s field training detachments. Following her retirement from the Air Force, Kris worked as a consultant with Lockheed-Martin on the Joint Striker Fighter.

Kris graduated with Honors from BYU with a B.S. in education. She holds a master’s degree in management and criminal justice, and studied international terrorism in the Air Force’s Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, the National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington D.C., and at California State University, Sacramento, (CSUS), California. Kris has taught both live and online courses about violence and terrorism for CSUS and was selected for an intensive, 10-day course in Israel for university professors sponsored by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. She attended lectures on terrorists’ ideologies and operations, and visited Israeli military bases, border zones and other security installations to learn how the Israelis deter terrorist attacks.

Kris believes every life should contain a little challenge and adventure, and retiring from the Air Force didn’t seem to change that at all! At the age of 63, she joined the first-ever all-American women’s team to compete in Canada’s Yukon River Quest, the Race to the Midnight Sun. It is a grueling, 444 mile wilderness paddling marathon race for individual and team canoe and kayak paddlers. It must be completed in 72 hours or less. Her team finished in 5th place for voyageur canoes. Along with her 7 teammates, she was recognized by the Alaska State Legislature for their tenacity and dedication in representing Alaska and the United States in this inspiring endeavor.

Kris’ awards include the Military Airlift Command Maintenance Effectiveness Award, the Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award, the Tactical Air Command Maintenance Effectiveness Award, and the Utah Women of Achievement Award, Governor’s Commission for Women and Families.

Kris spoke to our Honors community about pursuing “The Road Less Traveled,” and what that means for each of us individually, during her address at Honors Banquet & Ball on Friday, March 29 at 6 PM. The event featured dinner, a live DJ, dancing, and a special performance from BYU ballroom dancers.