Mane Fale '13 Recruiting Profile

My life hasn’t been the smoothest drive. I have been through many ups and downs in my life.  Losing my great grandmother was the hardest, because after her passing it felt like everything was going downhill for me then. After losing her, my parents had gotten divorced, and my big brother was shot and put in critical condition. A couple of years later, I lost 2 former football teammates and childhood friends whom I considered as family and who had taught me a lot growing up.  Playing football has changed my life in a whole different direction than it was heading.

Losing my Great Grandmother really broke my heart. It made me think about life and how my family would be. My Great Grandmother was the heart and soul of our family. She took care of me my whole life. She was a big reason I started to play sports because she loved football and wrestling. When she passed, it was unreal to me. I couldn’t stand to see her in her casket. A few months after her funeral, my brother was shot and put in critical condition. The bullet barely missed his spine which could have paralyzed him from the neck on down. While we spent time in the hospital with my brother, we were victims of a house robbery. After recovering, my brother moved in with my dad which made me the man of the house. This made me grow up and set my mind frame to a more protective mind set.  My mother and little sister are my inspiration because although I don’t take care of them financially, I try my hardest in school to succeed so that when I become an adult I can support them like they support me. Being the middle child I never would have never thought I would be given this responsibility at such a young age.

            My biggest dream in life is to go to college and play sports while pursuing my major in Business.  I think a college degree will prepare me with the skills I need to start a career in the automotive industry.  First I would like to go to a community college to learn hands-on training to be able to fix cars.  I also want to play football and continue my athletic career.  Then I hope to transfer to a university to learn business so that one day I can open my own business.

            My goals are set not only to succeed but far more than that. I plan to take care of my family and keep them out of trouble exactly how I manage to. My bigger siblings were influenced by violence and encouraged me to stay in school and go to college because they have seen a lot that can happen. My brothers are always there for me when I need advice on life because they have learned from their mistakes and unfortunately weren’t able to be given a second chance from those mistakes. I plan to be the first in my family to graduate from college and to set a new example for my family.