 Brown moved into an on-campus boarding house at 61 East Eleventh Avenue in the primarily black neighborhood of the University District in Columbus, and majored in architectural engineering. Brown attempted several times to apply to the school's aviation program, but was denied because of his race. Brown joined the track and field team as well as the wrestling team, but soon dropped both for financial reasons. He took a job as a janitor at a local Lazarus department store and then was hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad to load boxcars from 15: 30 to midnight each day. In spite of this, he maintained top grades in his classes. Facing difficulties with his academics and the institutional segregation in the city, Brown nevertheless found most of his fellow students were friendly toward him. Brown rarely returned to Mississippi during the school year, but in the summers he worked at a dry cleaner in Hattiesburg to help pay for his classes.
