Markus Wright tells Junior Marshal group to avoid negative influences, follow dreams

Markus Wright may be a pretty good football player at Jordan Vocational High School, but education was his focus to members of the Junior Marshal Program on Saturday.

Wright, who recently signed to play football at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., told about 30 Columbus youth in the Junior Marshal Program that he's going to one of best schools in the world next year.

"Without education, I couldn't do that," he said during a visit to Columbus State University's Cocoa-Cola Space Science Center.

A senior at Jordan and linebacker on the football team, Wright was the guest speaker for members of the two-year mentoring program managed by Cpl. Ezekiel Byrd of the Muscogee County Marshal's Office.

Wright, 18, talked about many challenges he faced while growing up in rural Thomasville, Ga., before his family moved to Columbus. His father was in and out of prison and his single mother did all she could to provide for the family.

"We moved up here just to get a better beginning for myself and my family," he said.

Although he started playing football in the fifth grade, he pointed to many negative influences like gangs and the wrong crowd.

"My best friend (from) elementary just got out of prison a few days ago," Wright said. "The biggest thing for me was I wanted to do something with my life. When I was up here, I would see my mom crying cause she couldn't pay the bills or I didn't know what my future held for me and it hurt me a lot."

By the time he entered the sixth or seventh grade at Arnold Middle School, Wright said he had to take a step back and restart his life.

"I realized the road I was going down wasn't the right thing for me," he said. "I knew I wouldn't be able to provide for my mom cause she has sacrificed so much for me."

He finished middle school and earned an academic scholarship to Brookstone School, where he played football for two years before transferring to Jordan.

"I think it was the best move for me," he said. "I came from Arnold and it's a cultural mix. I wanted to go to a different kind of culture. I wanted to go to Jordan. I'm getting the best of both worlds."

He urged the Junior Marshal youth to know yourself, no matter where you came from or what your family and friends are like.

"Walk in the truth and be real with yourself," he said. "Don't let anybody tell you what you can do. Always step outside and take pride in being an individual. Don't take pride in being somebody that you are not."

Education has helped Wright become what he is today. He plans to study kinesiology and become a orthopedic surgeon. If that doesn't work out, he will major in military intelligence or work for the CIA someday.

"They are big dreams of mine," he said.

De'Andre Davis, a 13-year-old student at Fort Middle School, said he's thinking about a similar career in the Army. He plans to go to college and become a doctor.

"It's a good education," he said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Markus Wright tells Junior Marshal group to avoid negative influences, follow dreams ."