Joshua McKenzie '19 Recruiting Profile

Growing up with neither my mother nor father around and living in a overcrowded, small apartment right outside the projects of Asbury Park, NJ, while being raised by my elderly 75 year old grandmother, has taught me many things over the years about myself and has given me a different perspective on life. I was conceived in the midst of my mom's addiction to both drugs and alcohol which should have effected me at birth; but, despite the odds I was born with no defects.  Throughout my hardships at a very young age, I developed many of my character qualities that still follow me to this day.  I am extremely determined, self motivated, and hard-working to obtain everything necessary to advance in life. I've fought hard, and been determined to beat the odds, through my many life adversities. From overcoming the obstacle of not being raised in a home with my biological mother nor father present, to dealing with the confusion of my mother's addiction with my driven persistence to find a way to change her life around. Even though I didn't have my biological parents to raise me, I was fortunate enough that my uncle stepped up to the plate to take on a life-changing responsibility to not only raise me but older brother despite not having children of his own at the time. This motivated me to be even more determined and responsible to make my uncle proud knowing that he was sacrificing his life just to make mine better. Therefore I feel as though it is my responsibility to make both my uncle and my family proud of me; so, I make every effort to excel in every area of my life, whether it be  academics or in sports. My striving for excellence has motivated me to become the very best at whatever I set my mind to. Over the years I've come to realize that the hardships I've endured at a very young age, have just strengthened me and given me the character that defines me and makes me the person I am today. To the coach reading this, I will be the PERFECT candidate to your team because I will give you everything that I have day in and day out, whether it is in the weight room, film room, football filed , classroom, etc. What truly makes me different from other recruits is the passion and love I have for this game. I am a competitor, who hates to lose more than I love to win. I compete in everything I do whether I am in the classroom or on the gridiron. I have never shied away from competition or obstacles and never plan on doing so because I feel that there is no challenge big enough that I haven't already faced. If you believe in me and take a shot at me, I promise to you that I will come in and compete every single day! I have worked my whole life to reach this opportunity of playing football at the Division I level,  and when I get recruited and decide to play for you, I will be ready to work harder than I've ever worked before, and I'll be ready to win Championships !