At a recent talk with 20 middle school boys with academic and behavioral problems at an alternative school in Charlotte, N.C., Darius Law made the case as a living example that earning good grades, studying and setting goals are “cool.”
Despite balancing a demanding business management course load daily with intense track and field practices that can run a grueling three hours, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte junior eagerly makes time for such events. He can thank his mother for that.
“I saw how she helped others, and I feel I should do the same thing,” he says of his mother, who raised two biological sons and several foster children on her own in Raleigh, N.C. “That’s why giving talks to students at places like [the alternative school in Charlotte] is important. We all need someone to help us out.”
Law’s appearance won rave reviews from the students and admiration of academic adviser Mark Verburg. “I don’t know how he maintains a schedule to earn a cumulative 4.0 [grade-point average], is Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president and receives all-conference honors in track,” Verburg says.
