Chimezie Elias '23 Recruiting Profile

Greetings all-
My name is Chimezie Elias. I attend Gilroy High School in Gilroy, California. I’m in the class of 2023. I’m a 6' 0" 186lbs WR, I have a 3.4 gpa and run a 4.59 40 yard dash. I received 1st team All league honors in the Pacific Coast Athletic League for two years in a row; and I also received junior athlete of the year for my high school football team. I also led my league in receptions and yards. I would love an opportunity to attend your College and play football during my college time. I hope you’re having a great ending to 2022. Here is a link to my highlights. http://www.hudl.com/v/2FsAPp

I would like to be a biomedical scientist in support of modern medicine to heal those who sustain injuries playing sports that they love.  This decision to lean into sports-related medicine will enable me to share the joy of Holy Moments when I faced a setback injured playing my beloved sport - football with torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect thigh bone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia).  To be able to trust your body to get back up to high performing level before the injury is absolutely amazing. Looking back on it, I remember getting hurt like it was yesterday.  When the time came to play our first game I was feeling more than ready. The first snap I took that day was at quarterback. I took the snap and faked the sweep more than well because the entire defense flowed to the opposite side, and just like that, I was gone. Forty-five yard touchdown off the bat. After scoring ore touchdowns, my confidence kept skyrocketing. Then came our last down of the day,  nearing the end of the game and I took the snap and ran left, a defender landed directly on my tailbone and knee. I had to come out of the game and go to the hospital. The doctor told me I had ACL I was out for six weeks. After six weeks of rest, I got to physical therapy to get my body to get back in shape. My physical therapist was a great professional and really helped me get back to the baller I knew I was. The key: my physical therapist believed in me and got me to believe in myself. My first game back was an absolute movie with four touchdowns and an interception!

The global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused innumerable damages to the total well-being of the people. Growing up as a teen in the era of COVID,  I came to rely on my catholic rituals and Sunday Mass obligations as font of religious and spiritual nourishment through online or virtual celebration of the liturgy, the ideal and lived experience of most Catholic faithful.  The online and virtual celebrations gave me hope as we enter to the new normal.  In fact, our local Chaplain used this moment of social distancing to bring us closer together through nightly devotional prayers, virtual social seminars and even musical entertainments.  All these activities that would have received lukewarm attention during normal times became the new normal.  In fact, combined, they helped me in growing and strengthening my faith. For those reasons, I submit that they helped shape me into a better person, and a better citizen of the world. My strong faith will help me be a dedicated student in college and I would apply that resiliency toward service to humanity. Just as I am proud to be a catholic faithful, I feel grateful to have learned that life is richer when we meet everyone with mutual respect, commitment and shared values.  With that learning and background, I am eager to take these lessons and build on them in college, where I will arrive with an open mind, a curiosity about others and wisdom always to make a difference.   Given my passion for inclusivity and tolerance, I believe the college will be a natural fit for me in growing into a high performing citizen of the world.