SPOTLIGHT
Changing the Narrative’s “King/Queen of the Month” is a new feature that spotlights players around the country who are serving as Kings/Queens in their everyday lives. We want to celebrate the ways that student athletes are Changing the Narrative in their schools, on their teams, and in their communities.


Craig Kanyangarara
School: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Sport: Football
Position: Linebacker
Number: 25
Hometown: Lynn, Massachusetts
Twitter: @c4_Roo

FEBRUARY
CRAIG KANYANGARARA
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
It was very traditional, like growing up in Zimbabwe. It was hands on, a lot. Ya know, due to the fact I was in Africa and it wasn’t bad, though, it was pretty decent as far as having fun. We had a lot of fun. That was above and beyond decent, actually. But as far as, opportunities and necessities it wasn’t always the best, but there was a lot of integrity behind it. So, it made us appreciate what we had, just being able to be alive. It was a blessing actually growing up.
2. Tell me about how you got to UAB
I actually couldn’t work or go to school after I graduated high school. Meanwhile, I was playing semi-pro and training. When the opportunity presented itself, when I got my papers and my workers authorization card, I was eligible to go to school and play football. I went over to Arizona for my cousins graduation and found out I could play JUCO football and, ya know, I had no clue about it. I ended up just staying out there with my Aunt and started playing ball. Next thing you know, offers started coming in, but I started getting big offers like Florida State, Texas A&M, and going into my sophomore year, I got a little comfortable. I started doing too much at the same time, overpowering myself with classes and I actually failed like three classes because I had 21 credits, and I just couldn’t do it all and I wasn’t, ya know, I wasn’t the most productive student at the time, too. So I had to stay another year and at that time, a lot of my offers had dropped and UAB stayed on course with me and they helped me finish my junior college career. It played itself out and I ended up committing to UAB.
3. How has Changing the Narrative impacted your life?
It has impacted my life a whole lot because it gave me the confidence to say “you know, it is ok to do the right thing.” If you’re courageous enough to pursue something or to do something impactful in someone’s life, take that time to do it. It gave me that extra confidence to say, “You know, I can actually change the narrative, I can actually do it and be a difference maker in the community or to whoever, period.” That’s fed me to believe anything is possible and not to shy away from people who are different from you or who might not be as well off as you are. It gave me the confidence to be that difference maker in someone else’s life.
4. What is your definition of a king?
The definition of a king is having the power to do what you choose, but humble enough to know that you can be less than the other individual knowing who you are. So that’s my definition of a king: just being a stand up person and, ya know, not eager to be the center of attention, just being a well-grounded individual. Humble, caring, selfless, but at the same time filled with a lot of integrity.
5a. Tell me about a time in your life when you stepped up and you were a king.
I’ve always gave away to homeless people, connected with people that were different than me but I think as late, just being able to stop and talk to a person and actually understand where they’re coming from and not view them as just being the homeless person, but see them from where they’re coming from and how their life shaped up. That was bigger than a lot of the things I’ve done because in the past I’ve done a lot of big things. I’ve told people not to bully people, this and that, but just being able to see things from another person’s point of view, that’s in a lesser situation than you are. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve done lately. It’s made me understand myself more and understand how the world works, you know, there’s time I’ve been through situations and I’ve been selfish and said “Oh Lord give me this, give me that,” but I’ve seen how blessed I was to just have little things like a tenacity. If I could reach that same message to the other individuals, no matter how hard it is, no matter what it is, if we can just try to see eye to eye, try to show them that I’m in the same situation as you, we’re just in different walks of life and we can really connect. Hopefully that will motivate you regardless of the fact the situation that you’re in, I’m in the same boat as you. It’s not about what I’m driving in. I might have zero in my bank account but I’m just striving. Being able to build that connection, with other people, especially this homeless man that I’ve met. Having only seen him twice, to us connecting, he expressed why life is hard and was feeling sorry for himself. I think that was big for me, because sometimes you want to pass by those people and give them change and go on their way. Sitting and connecting with those individuals was big for me because I learned a lot about myself and how I can improve my life as well through him.
5b. Tell me just a little bit about that story.
Man, that story’s crazy. It was Christmas Eve, and we went to Dollar Tree, my son and I. Outside the Dollar Tree, there’s a homeless man and he’s kind of asking us for change, and it’s cold as hell. So I’m kind of looking like, “man, I don’t have much but I got some change I’m coming out here with so I’ll give it to him.” Then he asked for a ride, then driving him to where he was going, he was kind of like looking at my son and saying “man, you’re going to be great one day,” and saying some positive things about me, as well. I’m looking and I’m like man that dude knows a lot about God! He’s really enlightening. He was reading scriptures I hadn’t ever heard before, he was teaching me. That was big, because sometimes God puts you in situations for a reason. Then, closer to New Years, I’m leaving my business partners house and I was running later. As I’m leaving taking a different route home and I run into the same individual. So we vibed again, and the guy starts to sing. I’m thinking, “this dude is talented.” He ends up giving me his wife’s number, he tells me to try to stay in touch, through her, she’s the one person who’s hard on me and tries to help me. When I called his wife, she told me what was going on and she’s telling me positive things about my life. She’s relating to me that sometimes you run into people for you to learn and that was big for me: kind of weird, but big for me. At the time, I was trying to get to the next step in my life and trying to be as selfless as possible. It was a connection, where I’m going through this stage and he’s going through this stage and we met at a certain point and we helped each other out. I told him, “I may not see you again, so hopefully what we talked about and did, that will encourage you to change you life.” I was passing that wave along. There were a lot of people around looking like “what is this dude doing?” We stopped at a gas station and this dude is singing at the top of his lungs. Sometimes you just got to embrace that, because you’re giving somebody else that confidence to say, “you know what, I’m going to break out of this box I’m in.” The song he was singing was a song he wrote in prison. He’s never sung to anybody. So, maybe I’m doing something right by just being there. I didn’t have much to offer him, but him expressing himself was big. I’m learning about this now, as we speak, but it’s not always about materialistic things.
It’s about what you do and what people do for you as far as moving to a positive atmosphere and not being stuck in that negative realm and just staying there. How can you help the other person and serve? That’s what I learned the most out of that day and I’m still learning still to this day. Life is not easy but little stuff like that kind of encourages me.
6. Are there any coaches in your life that have been kings?
Coach Clark, off the bat. If there’s anyone I can think of off the top of my head, that’s misunderstood but that’s him. We didn’t always get along (chuckles) but he was hard on me.
And it’s like, now, even through this past year, when he’d come up to me and tell me something, I’d really sit there and listen. He doesn’t just come up to people and give you words of encouragement. When he lets you in, it’s like, man, it’s big. You know, he’s got a mental integrity. He has coaches that have been with him, for damn near his entire career, but he’s just the real deal. Just seeing Coach Clark able to encourage me, now he says, “come to my office, let’s get you opportunities in your life, get you on track, starting a career and stuff like that.” He’s been saying that since my senior year. So him just trusting me still, and looking out for me, while I’m training. He still comes up to me, asks me how the family is, how’s this, how’s that? It’s little things he does. He’s a great man, and he has a lot on his plate, and it’s the little things he does, the way he carries himself, the way he talks to us constantly with the same message, being the same stand up guy. He’s able to take blame for losses, knowing they fell on the players, sometimes. I learned a lot from Coach Clark. He’s a business minded person. That helped me out, not having a father growing up, and going through this program with how strict it was. It helped me out because I say these things in my household, like things have to be a certain way. A lot of the times, I was like, “man, why is this guy like this? He doesn’t care about me?” When I matured up as an individual, not as a football player but as an individual, I started to see that he was saying a lot of things that were true and I would translate to life. It’s the little things he’s done, so with all of that I say Coach Clark.
7. If you could start your own foundation, what would it be centered around and why?
If I could start my own foundation, it’d be centered on helping kids, especially, but other people period. Just being able to help people. And for us, it was kind of do my grandmother’s thing, make her live her dream of the orphanage, but she opened another door in my mind, that, as I started working on my own personal development and seeing from my mentors, like Les Brown, Tony Robinson, people like that, these people literally serve other people. That kind of sparked my brain, instead of just trying to do it for my grandmother, do it for yourself. Like really go out there and try to serve other people. Don’t just do it because your grandmother did it, work hard. Don’t use her story, like what’s your identity? I’ve been learning that, as I got closer to God, as well, serve other people, serve the world. My foundation would definitely be centered around helping kids and helping people, period. But I definitely want to push my grandmother’s thing, as well, because that’s me. Man, my grandmother and I, we’re the same person. I want to incorporate helping that big dynamic of people, definitely in my country. There’s not in between: you’re either poor or your rich. If we could, push that middle class persona to Africa and kind of help the economy, help as much people as possible, that’s big to me.
8. If you want back to Zimbabwe and you told them you’d made it and you graduated, you’re doing good things, played big time football and had a parade for you, and all these amazing things you’ve accomplished, that’d be inspiring, don’t you think?
Oh yeah, definitely that’d be inspiring and I think it’d be inspiring for the simple aspect that there’s a lot of intelligent people that are in Zimbabwe. There’s a lot of really educated people, but you could be book smart but you don’t have that pride or that click in your brain that you can do anything or travel anywhere or that anything is possible. Sometimes, it takes somebody with a lot of flaws, like myself to kind of go back and show them that you can do anything if you put you unlocked your whole mind and say, “you know, I can leave this place one day,” or “I can make this place better,” so I think that will allow us to meet in the middle because there are a lot of intelligent people, but there’s a lack of opportunity because you can’t really move or start anything. It’s tough. We talk to my uncles and aunts, it’s hard to get opportunities or to just have your own thing going for them it’s just fighting to live or you got something going on. It’s a lot. I feel like I could definitely inspire other people and sparking their brains to say, “you know what, I can do anything if I just keep believing.”



Maddy Vermejan
School: Southern Illinois University
Sport: Softball
Position: Infield
Number: 27
Hometown: Lemont, Illinois
NOVEMBER
MADDY VERMEJAN
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
My parents provided my sisters and I with a stable home life. We were always together no matter what we did: movie nights, dinners, game nights, and athletics. Our family is very tight knit and I am grateful for that. I enjoy the simple pleasures of staying home and spending time with my family. I love it. I have two older sisters. My eldest is 23 and the other is 22. We are all 18 months apart. My sisters were my best friends growing up and continue to be. We have always been super close and have a special bond that will never be broken. I have 19 first cousins, nine of which come from my mom’s side and all live in my home town. Growing up with them was memorable, as we were not only cousins, but we were true companions. We continue looking forward to spending holidays and family events together. I feel blessed to have strong family relationships that continue to get stronger as life goes on.
2. When did you realize that you had college softball in your future?
I’ve been playing softball my whole life but I realized a college career was possible probably starting around the end of 8th grade, beginning of freshman year in high school. That’s when all the recruiting started for me. To be honest I think that was the most stressful part of my life, the toughest decision by far but for sure the best one that I’ve made. From all the college camps, showcases, tournaments, and combined hours on the phone with different college coaches it finally all paid off when I committed to SIU.
3. What was it like when you committed to SIU and realized that dream was going to come true?
Once I committed to SIU all the weight was taken off my shoulders. All the hard work and dedication paid off but I knew I couldn’t stop now. It made me want to work even harder and become the best one out on the field. At first I didn’t really realize how big of an accomplishment it was to be committed to a D1 university, I just thought it was normal and sort of laid low, did my own thing. I was really excited to start the next chapter in my life, I still remember the day I committed. It was a Monday night, I was sitting on the edge of my parents bed, shaking because I was so nervous but so excited at the same time. I called and said “hi coach I have some good news, SIU is where I want to be and I’d like to say I’m committing”. Kerri was super excited so we talked for a bit and when I hung up the phone I burst into tears and hugged my mom realizing that all the nights of not being able to sleep and not knowing to correct decision were over. My dreams were slowly but surely turning into reality.
4. How has the Changing the Narrative message impacted your life?
Changing the Narrative has impacted my life in many ways. I couldn’t stop talking to my mom about how great the stories and lessons were. It taught me to realize that I should have standards and be the best version of myself at all times. I shouldn’t care what other people are thinking about me, and to “straightened your crown”, find your true self, and stand up for what you and others believe in.
5. Give me your definition of what a Queen is.
In my mind a queen and a strong woman who has standards and believes in herself at all costs. Someone who wants to be the best for herself and others, who enjoys motivating others and giving back.
6. Describe a time in your life when you’ve had to step up and be a Queen.
One moment that still sticks with me was when I was in 8th grade. Graduation caps were banned because the grade before me threw them sort of like a frisbee and they were hitting people in the face. We were told we were not going to be able to wear graduation caps just gowns. For an assignment in my English class, I had to write a persuasive essay and my topic was to get graduation caps back, my audience was the school board. Long story short my teacher gave me the idea to bring my paper to the board of education and we ended up getting to walk across the stage that spring with caps. This was me stepping up and fighting for what I believed in, even if it meant talking to people of higher power. I wanted them to realize what they were taking away from us and that’s exactly what happened.
7. Tell me about a Queen in your life. How have they impacted you? Are there coaches in your life that have been Queens?
For queens in my life I would have to mention all my coaches, starting with Kathy Young “Coach Prince” who coached me when I was 15 & 16 at the Bulls/Sox Academy, Jen Tyrell “JT” who coached me when I was 17 & 18 on the Beverly Bandits, and lastly my current coaches at SIU, Kerri Blaylock and Jen Sewell. These 4 coaches all taught me different things about life and showed me how to be a queen back when I didn’t even know what a queen meant. Kathy Young was a huge motivator, she pushed me to be the best and to always hustle and communicate while out on the field. Fundamentally, she taught me everything I know about the game of softball, from glove work to swinging the bat. She was my first hitting coach and first travel ball coach so I give her so much credit, without her I would not be the player I am today. Jen Tyrell, she was loud, always moving, and had to highest energy out of all the coaches in the park. She believed in our team like no other and always pushed us to be the best and make it to the top. She made the game fun but at the same time held very high standards for us, which we all knew we had to grind to get there. Both years I played for JT we placed 7th in nationals. Finally, my current coaches Kerri Blaylock and Jen Sewell. Kerri’s someone who teaches us that the little things in life and in the game of softball are the things that will make us champions and strong individuals down the road. She wants the best for our team and coaches us to be just that. She is constantly helping us realize what we are all capable of doing, which pushes us even harder. Jen Sewell, the warrior who fights her own battles everyday but makes our team her priority. The warrior in her motivates all of us to keep grinding and to always give it our all no matter the situation. She teaches us to never give up and fight without excuses. All my coaches are queens. They are motivators, fighters, people who hold high standards for themselves and their teams, and will, no doubt, go the extra mile to help their team succeed. They not only developed me to be the player I am today but showed me how to be a strong women outside of the game.
8. If you could start your own foundation, what would it be centered around and why?
If I were to start a foundation I think it would be centered around individuals with intellectual disabilities. To help them succeed in the work place and find them a job they are passionate about. Give them opportunities that everyone else is able to pursue on their own.



Mitchell Malot
School: Southern Oregon University
Sport: Football
Position: Offensive Lineman
Number: 55
Hometown: Central Point, Oregon
Major: Business
Twitter: @Che55Che
OCTOBER
MITCHELL MALOT
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
Family was definitely and is a big part of my life. I was raised in a full house with mom, dad, and twin sisters Mallory and Madison. Family was always a big part of us. We’ve lived in the same house since I was born, we never moved. It was where my dad was from originally, Central Point, Oregon. What was cool is that my parents made sure that everyone knew that our house was the safe place to go, so that made growing up pretty easy because we knew we had a safe area. Growing up, I played every sport available to me. It was pretty cool to be able to travel. My parents would travel with me to a lot of different places and states to play games for baseball, football, and basketball.
2. When did you realize that you had college football in your future?
I think it was pretty early on, I would say middle school football, maybe high school football. It was kind of like I always knew that’s what I wanted to do. My dad played college football and so I always wanted to be like him and I knew if I worked hard and listened to my coaches, that I would have a chance to play.
3. What was it like when you committed to SOU and realized that dream was going to come true?
It was pretty awesome because I originally went to junior college in Weed, California at College of the Siskiyous. When I had the opportunity to come back home to my hometown and my home college, it was a pretty humbling experience for me because I get to play college football, the sport I love, in my backyard and have all my friends and family there so it was a pretty humbling experience. My parents’ house is 30 minutes from the college.
4. How has the Changing the Narrative message impacted your life?
Changing the Narrative has impacted me in a couple different ways. The first is that I didn’t really know much about the situation that Changing the Narrative talks about and so it was great to hear all of the information but also it hit me personally because I do have twin sisters that are a couple years older than me, so thinking about their experiences and stuff that could’ve or maybe honestly happened to them, it hit me personally because I knew that the stage and platform that we have as student-athletes, we can make a difference and it was just more of a personal thing for me because of thinking about my sisters and friends that are girls and my mom. As a student-athlete, you’re more than a norma, average college student. People know I’m on the football team. People in the community know that I’m on the football team, so it’s a great platform to share a message.
5. Give me your definition of what a King is.
My definition of being a king is someone that uses his knowledge and his awareness to share that with others. Someone that is not only in it for fame or publicity, they’re in it to make a difference and it’s not just when you’re in front of someone, it’s the stuff you do behind closed doors when no one’s looking and I think that’s my biggest thing. What are you doing when nobody’s looking? You can be a king in front of people or on the internet, but what are you doing when no one’s looking and you’re alone? Are you still a king by yourself?
6. Describe a time in your life when you’ve had to step up and be a King.
It was in junior college at College of the Siskiyous at our local bowling alley. There’s not a lot to do in Weed, California, so we would go bowling every Tuesday night. It was somebody that I knew went to school at College of the Siskiyous, but they weren’t in our friend group. I overheard them talking about a situation that to me didn’t feel comfortable and made me feel uncomfortable as a person and so I went over and voiced my opinion to them and they realized and we kind of talked about it, that it probably wasn’t the smartest thing for them to do and that in that sense they needed to apologize to that person.
7. Tell me about a King in your life. How have they impacted you?
Absolutely has to be my dad, hands down. He’s definitely instilled in us that hard work and determination is the thing that will get you to where you need to be and he always said to us, “treat others how you want to be treated” and he gave us multiple examples of him opening doors for people then I learned to do that, always treating women with respect like my mom and my sisters and other people. I got to see him work with people face to face a lot because he’s in construction, a general contractor, so he did a lot of face to face with people so I got to learn how to be able to express myself to people and talk to them with respect. So, definitely my dad.
8. Are there coaches in your life that have been Kings?
The first one that comes to mind is definitely Coach Roche at College of the Siskiyous. He definitely showed us how to be a King. We were coming from high school and it’s our first step in college and he made it pretty clear in his expectations. He allowed us to come to him and talk to him and be able to express ourselves and our needs and stuff like that. Also, my offensive line coach there, Coach Frizz, Tim Frisbie. He’s a great guy and at first he’s pretty tough on you, but once you find trust and he finds trust in you, he’s able to open doors for you. They’re both like father figures without being at home.
Especially in a small college, you were close with them. And then, I think now that I’m at SOU, it honestly could be any of our coaches. Coach Hall, Coach O, Chin, Fozz, the entire coaching staff demonstrates being a King day in and day out. They always instilled that in us and they teach us what’s right. Coach O, our offensive line coach, his big thing is that he’s trying to teach us not only to be really good at football and learn and master our craft at football, but be good men in the future. His big thing is that it’s not a four year commitment to SOU and our team, its a forty year commitment. Our coaches here at SOU definitely have taught us how to be a better man, not only on the field, but off the field.
9. If you could start your own foundation, what would it be centered around and why?
I really want to help kids. I think that if I could start my own foundation, it would be centered around kids. Not only mentoring kids, but it would be with sports, school, outside health, and how to be well rounded. Instead of a sports camp, it would be more like something we have local called Kids Unlimited. Its sports and school and after school program. I would want to do something like that and get it to different locations, like Portland, bigger venues.



Gwyn Jones
School: Auburn University
Sport: Volleyball
Number: 10
Hometown: Greenville, IN
Major: Business
2016 SEC All-Freshman team
2016-17 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
SEPTEMBER
GWYN JONES
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
2. When did you realize that you had college volleyball in your future?
3. What was it like when you committed to Auburn and that dream became a reality?
4. How has the Changing the Narrative message impacted you?
5. What is your definition of a Queen?
6. Describe a time in your life when you've had to step up and be a Queen.
7. Tell me about a Queen in your life. How have they impacted you?
8. Are there any coaches in your life that have been Queens?
9. If you could start your own foundation, what would it be focused on and why?




AUGUST
BRADLEY BOZEMAN
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
2. When did you realize that you had college football in your future?
3. What was it like when you committed to Alabama and realized that dream was going to come true?
4. How has the Changing the Narrative message impacted your life?
5. Give me your definition of what a King is.
Someone that knows his place and how to bring better to others rather than just themselves. There are a lot of people in my position that go out and do things for the wrong reasons. To me that’s not being the type of person or man that we’re supposed to be. Someone that’s just doing it for a facelift or publicity stunt. Something you do, you should be invested in. You shouldn’t have to do anything. Mine is being full hearted and bringing better to others, whether it betters yourself or not.
6. Describe a time in your life when you’ve had to step up and be a King.
The one that really comes to mind is starting my anti-bullying campaign. I went and did the first one and had no intentions of that turning into anything and it just kind of resonated with me. I was in a busy point in my life with the draft coming up and just finishing up pro day and waiting on coaches and different stuff to come through, but just taking that step, it took away from some of my time that I could’ve been doing whatever, but it felt good and made me feel good about myself. I knew I was doing the right thing.
7. Tell me about a King in your life. How have they impacted you?
My father. Hands down. My dad worked his way up from the bottom. He grew up with three brothers and one sister. He didn’t have the best home life. They made it through but he was from one of the poorer parts of my home town. He’s grown his business into something that was profitable for his kids and his family to put me in a good situation where I am today and make me comfortable living. I grew up very comfortably, I’m not going to hide that at all, but it was because of his hard work that I was able to live comfortably. He taught me the values of hard work and commitment, being charismatic and treating people with kindness and respect and being humble. He taught me all of those things. I am myself today because of him.
8. Are there coaches in your life that have been Kings?
There’s two for me that really stick out. My high school coach, Mike Battles. He’s one of those guys that really stuck with me and pushed me forwards, kept me humble, and would help you in the blink of an eye. I’m still extremely close with him today. Also my o-line coach at University of Alabama, Brent Key, he was the same way. He pushed me, he was always on me, he invested time in me and showed me respect. He gave me the tools I needed to be a successful football player. He’s the same way, he’ll help anyone in the drop of a hat no matter race, religion, or what it is, he’s there.
9. What is the status of your anti-bullying campaign?
The paperwork is being processed as we speak. It’s soon to be and up in coming right now. We’re going to start it up here in Maryland, in the Baltimore area and see where it goes from there.



Javon Patterson
School: Ole Miss
Sport: Football
Position: Offensive Lineman
Number: 79
Hometown: Petal, MS
Major: Management Information Systems
Twitter: @JPatterson__8
Instagram: @jpatterson__79
JUNE/JULY
JAVON PATTERSON
1. Tell me about your childhood and what life was like growing up.
2. When did you realize that you had college football in your future?
3. What was it like when you committed to Ole Miss and realized that dream was going to come true?
4. How has Rachel’s message impacted your life?
5. Describe a time in your life when you’ve had to step up and be a King.
6. Give me your definition of what a King is.
7. Tell me about a King in your life. How have they impacted you? Are there coaches in your life that have been Kings?
8. If you could start your own foundation, what would it be centered around and why?
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