Bruce is currently a senior and this is his first year in the TYA program. Bruce has been a student athlete all four years of high school and has been a varsity football player for three of those years. Being a student is already difficult in itself, but balancing being an athlete at the same time is even more challenging. Bruce is no stranger to challenges or overcoming them.

During his sophomore year he started taking football more seriously but it did not come without hurdles he had to learn to overcome. His biggest hurdle being himself. The pressures of poorly chosen friend groups deterred him to the point where he was no longer passing classes and even led to him getting into fights. By the middle of his sophomore year he was on academic probation which meant he had to sit out of football games. In addition to this he was on contract with the school he was attending at the time, which had the stipulation that anymore physical altercations of any sort would result in him being kicked out of the school. With support from his family and mentor he decided that is was time for a change of environment that had fewer distractions. By the end of his sophomore year he had transferred.

Starting over at a new school allowed for him to have a fresh start both academically and athletically. He also took up playing instruments such as guitar, bass, piano, and the drums again. Since his sophomore year Bruce has not been in any fights, gotten suspended, and he is back on track for graduating.

In the future he hopes to play football professionally but wants to get his degree first so he has something to fall back on.