In its history, DHS has cultivated a considerable amount of ambitious graduates who left behind their lives in Midland and went on to achieve great success. For Jalen Parmele, a 2004 graduate, this meant playing college football for the University of Toledo, which paved the road to his current position as a running back for the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Parmele has always been a football fanatic. His deep-rooted passion for the sport stems from the childhood memories he has of the electric CMU games he attended with his family to watch his oldest brother, Chris Parmele, play.<\/p>\n
Jalen\u00a0officially began playing football in the sixth grade. Once he reached high school, he started off on the freshman team.\u00a0Jalen thrived on the team and secured a position on the varsity team by his sophomore year.<\/p>\n
One may imagine that, as for any high school student, the constant attention from peers and colleges because of Jalen’s talent could have led to a toxic egocentricity. However, it is evident that\u00a0Jalen has always remained humble and made the most out of his high school career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had always been kind of quiet about things, never really talked much about football or what colleges were looking at me,\u201d\u00a0Jalen said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a matter of, you know, being in the now and handling school and being with my friends-enjoying high school. Worry about the rest of the stuff when it happens. That was kind of my mind frame.\u201d<\/p>\n
In retrospect, playing football for DHS was an illuminating experience for Jalen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt taught me how to grow, if anything, as a player,\u201d Jalen said. \u201cPlaying in the Saginaw Valley, you\u2019re playing against a lot of talented players. My junior year, a Flint school had nine guys go Division I. So you\u2019re playing against good talent, and you really adapt and develop as a player, mentally and physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
For students who are involved in athletics now or intend on continuing to participate in sports on the college level,\u00a0Jalen offers some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is to stay focused,\u201d\u00a0Jalen said. \u201cStay focused on your goals, stay focused on what you want to accomplish. You can\u2019t let influences distract you\u2014I mean your friends, your family. It\u2019s really about having that vision and going for it, and not getting sidetracked off of that vision. Just to go to a party and decide you want to have fun, it can end right there. All it takes is one arrest; all it takes is one bad situation where it can all come crashing down. So avoid situations like that and keep your vision in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n