My dad passed away in 2009 when I was seven. A drunk driver ran into him on his way to one of his calls. I was a daddy’s girl, so we were very close. I wanted to do everything like him. He was a football player, so I played soccer. And he would teach me lessons like, ‘Words don’t mean anything. It’s all about your actions,’ or ‘If you don’t work hard in life, the world is going to chew you up and spit you out.’ Crazy things that you don’t tell seven-year-olds, but things you remember over time. He poured so much into this little person who was a sponge that by the time I got older, it was instilled in me. He was very big on making sure I had everything I needed before anybody could influence me any other way. He was a great person.
My mom is also amazing. She never let me miss a beat. She always made sure that everything was done, no matter what. When my dad passed away, she was like, ‘Okay, what’s next? You’re still going to soccer practice. You’re still going to Girl Scouts. You’re still going to do all the things you want to do because the things that happen to you don’t define who you are.’ She understood that I was her baby, and she was going to fight for me. I had great parents growing up, and that really aided me in being the person I am.
But I also have a huge support system. My dad has 10 siblings. My mom has two siblings, and my grandmother has seven or eight. So I have great aunts and regular aunts and uncles. Everybody kind of wrapped their arms around me. Whenever I have an event, like graduation, I know someone’s coming. Everybody’s going to support me. And when my dad passed away, I gained a whole police station as a family. So it was never like I was going to fall to the waist side when it came to anything. I had a huge village.”
– Jay’La, junior entrepreneurship major from Las Vegas, Nev.
