FACES OF GRCC

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I was in Florida when my mother passed away in July 2013. It was a surreal feeling. It tore me into pieces. She was my everything. We would always go to church together. I would even sleep with her on the cold, hardwood floor at night, keeping an eye on her and making sure she was okay. She had many health problems. She would get out of breath walking up three stairs. She was very ill at the time but, not to the point where we thought she would die. She was only 55 years old. It tears me up just writing this. My hero taken away from me when I was only 18 years old. A mother of eight kids, she always told me if anything ever happened to take care of the family and stay together. I always told her I would play college basketball. I was told by college coaches in high school I wouldn’t be able to get my shot off. “You’re too short, you’re too slow.” I used that as motivation. Going into my freshman year I had no offers, Just prior to that an all-star game substitute. I went to Muskegon Community College where I prepared to walk on the team, but God had other plans. I injured my knee. When I came back to my high school alumni game, I tried pinning one of the kids shot off the backboard. I came down awkwardly on my left knee. This wasn’t the first time. This time I tore cartilage and needed physical therapy. My dreams felt as if they were washed down the drain. I would not give up, though. I worked as a student assistant coach on the team. I took care of the filming, laundry, and was the best water boy a player could ask for. I showed up to just about every practice. I found out my Dad passed away in October of 2013 from a seizure. I was at home doing some math homework when I received the call from my older brother. I was shocked. One parent wasn’t enough. It didn’t hit me right away because I was still trying to cope with my mom being gone. Basketball was the only thing that could keep my mind off of things. My Chicago teammates Tyiwan Jones, Turean Conner, Nick Norals, and Reginald Washington really reached out to me. They stuck by my side. During that time, I bounced around from house to house. That November, after four months of moving around to four different houses, my friend Eric Chilcote - who I met only a handful of times before this - reached out to me and said I could stay with his family. I’m grateful for the families that took me in before this, because they really did a lot for me, but now I finally had a stable home. The Chilcotes have stuck by me ever since then. They could tell I had been through a lot. They gave me the courage and the support to bounce back on my feet. I would travel from Grand Rapids - where they lived - to Muskegon every other day, an hour drive there and back. Sometimes I stayed in the house where my mom and I lived, which was unsettling. After the winter semester was over I transferred to Grand Rapids Community College, still holding on to my dreams of playing college ball. I was depressed that summer just working at Jimmy Johns and relaxing at home. I had no motivation to do anything. My host parents Mr. and Mrs. Chilcote let me know it was time to move out on my own. I was 19 years old at the time. Which was big for me. But, I thank them for that because I grew up, and learned more about myself and who I really am as a young man of God. I moved out to a small apartment, my first time actually on my own. It was tough, but I made my own rules and schedule. I was out of shape but it only took a few weeks to get into shape. I didn’t really put in as much time as I should have before getting cut from the basketball team. This wasn’t the first time I had been cut. I was used to the feeling, which meant I just wasn’t what the coach was looking for. I continued to train every morning at 6 a.m. at <strong>GRCC</strong>. I would not give up that easy on my dreams. The coach left after a few games for a different job. So an interim coach filled in, David Selmon, who came out of retirement to coach the team. He put up flyers needing players because half of the team was ineligible. I finally was given an opportunity to prove myself. I joined the team. It was a weird feeling knowing I got cut by the previous coach. But, the team was very welcoming and treated me as a brother. Every practice I would be guarding an All-American, Demarcus Stuckey, who I grew up with in the Black Hills. We would battle, but he always said I would foul him which was the case half of the time. I was not as quick as him, but he made me better each and every day. He carried our team to the championship. It was the best time of my life. I didn’t play much but, when I did get in the game, I made things happen. The season came to a close. We lost in the championship, but it was a great run. A new coach was hired because Selmon went back into retirement. I went to all of the open gyms and played well, until late July when I injured my knee once again playing football. I gained some weight during that time and just worked. I came back to the open gyms and my quickness disappeared. I wasn’t the same. So I decided to take a year off. Depression hit me so fast. I would just eat and sleep most of the time. I 24 | TheCollegiateLive.com
wasn’t productive at all. I didn’t want to live anymore. Life was a waste of time to me. There was no hero in my life and it felt like everything had been taken away from me. Basketball was my only outlet and I gave it up. Sure enough, I got back into the gym and started to get my energy back. I went from one job to five jobs in a matter of two months. I volunteered coaching kids at the YMCA and also started helping out at Greater Generation Basketball. I really am thankful to LJ Kilgore for letting me work with and be a mentor to these kids. It has impacted me so much, that I started my own personal training, Nate The Great Basketball training. I started to post videos of me on Instagram and record my workouts. I kept my faith through this whole time. God has blessed me so much, these past few months, so many doors have been opened. Out of nowhere I just got invited to the Circle of Men Athletics Beyond Talent showcase in Gary, Indiana later this month. Over a 100 coaches will be there, so this is another way God has shown me he has my back. I gave up on him this past fall after I gave up on basketball. I was depressed, feeling like I was alone. But, I had a dream and my Mom appeared in the dream. She asked me, why are you doing this? Skipping class, sitting around all day not being productive. She told me, “I want to see you play again.” That’s all I needed to hear from her. Since then I have been in the gym at least six days a week.Focusing on my diet, and expanding my flexibility. I decided to have a relationship with God again because for a while there I had turned on him for the first time in my life. I missed two months of church. I got back into his word. I feel blessed. Journalism has paved a way for me to tell my story to others going through tough times. If I can impact just one person, that would make me happy. I’m so thankful for everyone who has had my back in life and has been there for me. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, from the car rides to the Christmas presents, to all the professors who have helped me at MCC and <strong>GRCC</strong>. My mom wrote this to me before she passed, on the back of a bookmark: “I am so proud of you and all that you are, I will always be with you in your heart. Always look to the heavenly father first with everything. Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths. Love you, Momma.” Photo by John Rothwell | Photo Editor Taylor uses the bookmark his mother left him to mark his spot in his devotionals. TheCollegiateLive.com | 25
Page 1 and 2: Winter Semester 2016 thecollegiatel
Page 3 and 4: BACK IN THE GAME: How Deiona Rogers
Page 5 and 6: FACES OF GRCC Jenanna Greeno Age 26
Page 7 and 8: Tim Harrisson Age 28, Grand Rapids
Page 9 and 10: ‘The Old Man in the Back Row’ S
Page 11 and 12: Detroit,” Kennedy said. “I have
Page 13 and 14: Emma Stewart Age 22, Grand Rapids,
Page 15 and 16: Kevin Curiel-Vazquez is the Externa
Page 17 and 18: Jim Blue Age 60, Ada “I play the
Page 19 and 20: I can remember the first time I stu
Page 21 and 22: Natalie Vice Age 18, Dorr “Well I
Page 23 and 24: Samuel Casares Age 24, Grand Rapids
Page 25: left and right in five on five. I w
Page 29 and 30: Dan Bui Age 20, Grand Rapids Vy Bui
Page 31 and 32: Grand Rapids Community College Poli
Page 33 and 34: “When I was that troubled kid, I
Page 35 and 36: Sophia Vanmeeteren Age 19, Kentwood
Page 37 and 38: Grand Rapids Community College Secc
Page 39 and 40: Jesse Ballard Age 21, Holland “My
Page 41 and 42: Osbaldo Gonzalez Age 24, Holland
Page 43 and 44: Julio Gomez Age 32, Grand Rapids
Page 45 and 46: ArtPrize entry named “Unveiling.
Page 47 and 48: Luis Demas Age 24, Grand Rapids, bo
Page 49 and 50: Mikah Townsend Age 20, Hudsonville
Page 51 and 52: train. “I would stay everyday, at
Page 53 and 54: Melissa Lucas Age 19, Grand Rapids
Page 55 and 56: Mansehaj Singh Age 21, Big Rapids
Page 57 and 58: LIFE BEYOND THE CHAIR by Jennifer L
Page 59 and 60: somebody that doesn’t have an imp

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