CLASS OF 2014 SUCCESS STORIES:
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Bowling Green State University
/ News / 2014 / December / Class of 2014 Success Stories: Overcoming Adversity
A story of courage, success and
hope
By: Jacquie Nelson
He is quick with a smile, has
the gift of gab and has never met a stranger.
His story began 23 years ago in
the small Ohio town of St. Marys. Josh King entered the world two weeks late
and pronounced clinically dead of meconium aspiration (the ingestion of fecal
matter into the lungs). The whirlwind that followed included lifesaving acts by
three doctors and six nurses that brought him back to life, followed by weeks
in an incubator at Children’s Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and a lifetime of
challenges ahead. King’s ordeal left him physically disabled with a mild form
of cerebral palsy and faced with an array of learning disabilities.
Now? He is days away from
achieving a life-long goal.
The first-generation college
student will soon be graduating from Bowling Green State University with a
bachelor’s degree in sport management. King never dreamed of going to college,
let alone graduating, but this December he will have achieved what many thought
was an impossible feat.
Always interested in sports,
King began working in his high school’s equipment room and although he dreamed
of college, he had never considered it an option. Instead, he enrolled at a
branch of Wright State University in his hometown to work toward becoming a
police officer.
Continuing his work at the
equipment room, he eventually realized it was a career in sport management that
he wished to explore. He discovered the program at BGSU, one of the best in the
country, so he applied and was accepted.
“I was given the opportunity to
go to college, even given my challenges.” King said. “BGSU gave me this chance
– I was still able to go to college!”
Over the course of his career
at BGSU, King has taken advantage of all the programs and services that the
University has to offer. He has a record 338 visits to the Learning Commons
where he received much-needed tutoring; his exams were taken at Disability
Services on campus where each was read aloud to him. In addition, he
participated in a practicum with Brian Daniels in the football equipment room
and Scott Jess with the baseball and hockey programs and was a member of the
Sport Management Alliance Group for a year. All of this while managing to keep
up his grade point average (three times on the dean’s list) and completing his
internship in the athletics equipment room at Wilmington College on Nov. 23.
“Josh is a wonderful student to
have in our program,”said Dr. Ray Schneider, sport management. “He is extremely
passionate and engaged in our class material.”.
King credits his family,
friends, mentors and heroes for providing support necessary to achieve this
goal and realize his dream. Tragically, as he was completing his summer semester
and fall internship, he lost two of his three heroes in a three-month span –
his grandfather, who had been ill, and his father, who passed away suddenly of
a heart attack. Through all this adversity, he continued his internship at
Wilmington College so he would graduate on time, noting, “I had to complete my
degree for both my father and grandfather, and I just took it one day at a
time.”
In his limited free time, King
enjoys football, playing video games, spending time with family and friends and
all Pittsburgh sports.
“I have known Josh King since
my arrival on campus three years ago,” said Mark Nelson, director of the
Learning Commons. “He has taken full advantage of our services within the
Learning Commons to the tune of 338 total visits. Over the past three years we
have enjoyed sharing our love of sports, and I have enjoyed watching Josh grow
and mature as he pursues his dream of becoming an equipment manager."
What is after graduation for
King? A career as an equipment manager, of course, and he is approaching that
search with just as much fervor as he did his collegiate career. To date, King
has delivered his resume to all Division I, II and III universities, all major
league baseball and all national football teams. King is approaching this next
step of the journey as he has his life to this point. “Wherever I have to go
(for my career) is where I have to go.”
King knows that life is a
journey, and that all face obstacles. Those who know him well agree he has
endured more than his share. Despite this, Josh King is a friendly, generous,
hardworking, giving human being who is passionate about his career path.
He is also passionate about
those individuals on campus who have mentored him, those heroes who inspired
him, and all those who continue to support him.
