Setting your goals

John Bowman Defensive end

I never imagined I would be in professional football. The number of players who make it into a professional league is less than one per cent. So you need a Plan B.

I’ve always wanted to become a sports agent and to be able to travel. I knew my chances of achieving these goals would be greater if I had a university degree. So I was always a good student, getting As or Bs. I knew showing up to class was so important, and I never missed a day.

Math was always my biggest challenge, but I knew to become a sports agent I had to be able to deal with numbers, understand finances and read the stock markets. I approached math the same way I did football. To be my best, I had to practice a lot. So instead of just going to math class, I went after school to ask my teachers questions when I didn’t understand something. Or I would show up early in the morning to find out if I had done a difficult math problem right. I also worked with a math tutor. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely worth it.

I’ve played in three Grey Cup championships and been a winner of two of them, but getting my university diploma is still the greatest moment of my life. If I could walk around with my diploma the way I do with my Grey Cup ring, I would. It’s the most valuable piece of paper I’ll ever have in my life. I am so proud of my degree in business administration.

When my football career is over, I plan to get my master’s degree because, to me, education is a lifetime thing. The more you educate yourself and learn from every situation, the more opportunities you’ll have to do what you want at work and in the rest of your life.

It really bothers me when young people tell me they hate school and want to quit. They’re going to be our future leaders. What kind of world will this be if they don’t educate themselves?

Be a real team player

Tevonn Walker

I play basketball and touch football at school, and tackle football for St. Laurent. When I broke my arm playing basketball in November 2009, I had to sit out all the games for two months. The next summer, a basketball mentor really helped me realize that any kind of career I might have in sports could be over in a second, but no one could ever take away my education.

While I’ve always done well in school, with about a 75 per cent average, my new aim is to always be on the honour roll. It means I have to maintain an 80 per cent or higher average.

My marks immediately went up with my change in attitude. Now I take advantage of any free class time to do as much homework and studying as possible. I’m also more open to the suggestions my teachers make to help me improve my work.