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LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- Despite having played five years in
the National Football League with the Seattle Seahawks in
front of crowds of 60,000 or more, Jermaine Kearse was
nervous when he took the stage in front of about 400 people
at the McGavick Event Center on the campus of Clover Park
Technical College in Lakewood Feb. 16, 2016.
Kearse
was the keynote speaker for the college's All In: A
Champion's Mindset. He was not necessarily there as a
Seattle Seahawks star, but as a representative of his
15 to 1
Foundation to help youths in military communities. His
mission is to inspire those who are veterans or come from
military families.
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NFL wide receiver Jermaine Kearse was the keynote speaker
during All In: A Champion's Mindset, hosted by Clover Park Technical
College in Lakewood February 16, 2016. (Courtesy photo by Joint Base Lewis-McChord Public Affairs Office)
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In the crowd were students, faculty and staff from the
college and about 120 students from throughout the Clover
Park School District, including 30 from his alma mater Lakes
High School. The audience listened intently because he had
walked in the shoes that many of them are in now. Kearse was
born and raised on Joint Base Lewis-McChord while his
father, David, was a sergeant first class in the Army.
The focal points of the talk were his foundation's three
pillars of success -- hard work, perseverance and believing.
"These are steps that I
took that I think will be beneficial for others in being
able to get to the places where I am today," Kearse said.
Those were the steps that helped him graduate from Lakes
and go on to play college football at the University of
Washington. There were bumps along the way as Kearse wasn't
drafted into the NFL -- a perfect example of how the path to
success isn't always smooth.
"If it was, I would
have been drafted first overall," Kearse said.
Instead, he was an undrafted free agent to the Seahawks and
only had three catches in 2012. But as time went on and the
Seahawks played in two Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015, Kearse
made highlight catches in games during big moments.
The local kid has done the community proud -- just ask Dave
Miller, his former Lakes Lancers head coach.
Miller
has seen the growth and development of Kearse not only as a
player, but as a role model for the students he currently
teaches and coaches.
"It was something he was always
motivated to do if he ever got to this position," Miller
said. "It shows the kids that the path has been paved, and
if they work hard, persevere and make good choices, they can
reach their goals and dreams, too."
It was an
impactful event for the college, where the more than 7,300
students include service members, veterans and dependents --
most of which come from JBLM. Dr. Lonnie L. Howard, CPTC
president said having Kearse speak on campus was an amazing
opportunity.
"Quite often [with] a lot of
professional athletes, once they arrive, they don't go
back," Howard said. "But it speaks to his character that he
came back."
The CPTC visit was part of a busy week
for Kearse, who had coached a military youth basketball team
his foundation sponsored over the weekend in Olympia -- a
team he coached to an overtime win. On Monday, Kearse and
his foundation brought six children from Gold Star families
to the state capitol in Olympia as part of a recognition
from the Washington State House of Representatives.
Kearse is set to be a free agent this offseason, but he
didn't answer questions about his NFL future during the
event. He did speak on how he wants to continue developing
the foundation that started in July 2015.
He's
thought about how the foundation can grow, but he wants to
continue focusing on assisting military youths at JBLM and
the rest of Washington, he said.
"[JBLM] has a really
special place in my heart and I wanted to give back," Kearse
said. "I want to help them find what they're passionate
about, what they want to do in the future and help them take
the steps to get to those dreams in any way that I can."
By Dean Siemon, JBLM Northwest Guardian
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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