Everday Hero

Traveling to a foreign country to attend a university can be a big change. One former College of Media & Communication student did just that and flourished during his time in Lubbock.

Dwayne Extol (BA Electronic Media and Communication, 2014) came to Lubbock in the fall of 2012 to run track. He balanced a full class load, running track, and volunteering with United Future Leaders, a Lubbock-area outreach program for children in fifth grade through high school, during his time at Texas Tech.

Extol said while he has many accomplishments in his life, graduating from college would be his greatest. He also said his mother had a significant impact on his education.

“Yesterday, I picked out my cap and gown,” Extol said. “The feeling was overwhelming. I never saw myself holding a cap and gown. Ever. If you told me at 10 or 11 that I would be graduating from college, I would not have believed you.”

“My mom always believed I would graduate,” Extol said. “She would do everything to make sure that I was in school. I never missed a day of school. We had a hurricane threat back home one year, and my mom still took me to school. The principal was the only other person at the school, and she called my mother to tell her that it was okay if I went back home.”

Gloria Gonzales, director of United Future Leaders, first met Extol in 2013 when Extol began volunteering with the organization. Gonzales said Extol works with the after-school program for fifth and sixth-grade children.

“Our focus is civility, ethics and leadership,” Gonzales said. “Our philosophy is that we build leaders by helping them identify their sense of leadership and purpose. We help these children develop themselves and then challenge them to share that message with others.”

Gonzales said Extol has a natural ability to engage the students and relate the lessons learned to personal experiences. She said Extol is great at allowing the students the opportunity to feel heard which helps strengthen the lessons.

“When I met Dwayne, I knew he had a gift,” Gonzales said. “We can teach someone how to teach and what to teach. But, to communicate it in the way that he does is so powerful for our kids.”

Extol said growing up in Jamaica and his family life inspired his volunteer efforts. Out of his six closest friends back home, Extol said he is the only one who is still alive. This led Extol to begin a leadership group back in Jamaica when he was 16. This group provided Kingston-area children with role models to look up to and helped those children graduate from high school and continue on to college.

Extol said the fact that his father died when Extol was 9 led to his early maturity because he had to help his mother raise his siblings; he was the oldest child.

“Losing my father at a young age, I did not have much of a childhood,” Extol said. “I had to help my mother out with grocery shopping and helping with my brothers and sisters. But, my mother did a great job playing both roles and raising us as best as she could.”

Cam Stone, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Journalism and Electronic Media, first met Extol as a student in Stone’s News Writing class. Stone said he could first tell how serious Extol was about academics. He said Extol’s interest in succeeding in the classroom validated Stone’s efforts as a professor.

“It is pretty cool to see when News Writing starts clicking,” Stone said. “It clicked fairly early for Dwayne. He dug in. He came to class, asked questions, and utilized office hours. Man, that fires me up.”

Stone said Extol had a life-changing experience while working on his final News Writing project. Extol said his interview with a man whose family lost everything due to alcohol abuse reinforced how important family and education are to him.

“As an instructor, having someone like Dwayne in your class is a breath of fresh air,” Stone said. “Seeing the success he has had and his experience in News Writing, that’s what winds my clock up.”

Gonzales said Extol is known as a very caring and positive individual who is popular with the children of the United Future Leaders program. She said Extol never leads with the fact that he is a member of the track team, and that information is only revealed when the lesson calls for it or the time is appropriate, which reinforces one of the goals of United Future Leaders - forming “everyday heroes.”

“He gets his cup filled by the kids,” Gonzales said. “I think that is when we can create a culture that is encouraging and positive. It is not about Dwayne having something to offer because of who he is. It is a mutually beneficial relationship and it goes both ways.”

For the future, Extol said he has the opportunity to run track professionally and is also thinking about graduate school. He said continuing his education would also motivate his sisters who attend college back in Jamaica.

Stone said Extol’s options for the future are limitless.

“He’s a thoughtful young man, dedicated, and he wants to get it right,” Stone said. “All of those things rolled into one make Dwayne the kind of person he is. He is on the right track and has a bright future.” mc

(Preston Redden graduated in 2015 with a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications and in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.)