My first semester at Cornell was a tough one, but it was well worth it. At first, I struggled the most with time management. It was hard to find a balance between school and sports. My classes were tough and the professors would cover the material very quickly. On weekdays, I’d have football meetings in the mornings and practices in the afternoons. On top of that, we had games on Saturday and lifts/conditioning on Sundays. Overall, I was spending well over 20 hours a week with football and studying the rest of the time. While football was a huge commitment, they also gave me resources to help us stay on top of our classes. We had mandatory study halls that helped me get my work done and we were offered free tutoring. Once I started taking advantage of the resources available to me I started doing better in my classes. Through sports I was also able to make a lot of great friends and connections that also helped me get through this first semester. I would often be in one of the townhouses studying either Chemistry and Calculus with friends or just laying back and enjoying the brief moments of free time that we had. If someone had told me, a year and a half ago, that I would be a running back at Cornell I wouldn’t have believed them. Being able to play football at the collegiate level while also studying at an Ivy League school has been the best experience of my life, it’s hard to describe just how amazing these last few months have been. I am truly thankful for MVYouth and all of the support that I’ve received, I wouldn’t be in the same position I am in if it hadn’t been for you.