James Prysock
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Major: Sport Management
Minor: Business Administration
"I feel like all my hard work and dedication at Otterbein has paid off."
1. How do you define success? Success is the balance between work, commitment and happiness. It is waking up, going to work and saying, "I can't believe they pay me to do this!"
2. What are your most significant accomplishments? Some of the things I have accomplished include receiving the Freshman of the Year Award, the Frederick Douglass Accomplishment Award, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace and Justice Award. The most significant accomplishment to me is the Martin Luther King Jr. Award. Receiving an award in the name of a man who stood for so much while being nonviolent meant a lot to me.
3. What motivates you? My drive and motivation derives from wanting to make myself successful and making my family proud.
4. What is the Ubuntu Mentoring Program and how did you become involved with it? Ubuntu is a mentoring program through Otterbein College and Columbus Public Schools. The goal is to get students motivated to set goals, career plans and go to college. Ubuntu is an African word that means community. We use the mindset that we can build each other up and help each other succeed. I have been a mentor since my freshman year.
5. What changes do you hope your generation will bring to this country? Our generation has been labeled as a privileged generation full of potential for success, but not possessing the work ethic to obtain it. As college students, we strive to prove the latter part of that theory wrong. I believe it will be our generation that finds the cure for once-labeled "incurable" diseases. I believe it will be our generation that finds new and innovative ways to better business structures. I think it is us that will help uplift the current condition of our country and be leaders instead of followers.
Finish these sentences:
I am most proud of . . . America for desiring change.
Someday I hope to . . . change someone's life and continue to break any stereotypes placed upon me.
I am inspired by . . . my family, friends and professors desire for me to succeed, and I hope to give back to them one day.