By Jensen McKey, Epic Charter Schools
Dalton Davis, a soon to be eighteen-year-old, is a rising senior and is striving to be a sports analyst for ESPN. His goals have become a large focus for him and are one of the driving forces in his life. Another of Dalton’s main motivations is his family. His career success is so essential because he wants to be able to provide for his current loved ones as well as his future family.
“So when I get up every day, I just say do it for them. And that’s why I try to strive to be the best and do what I can.”
He is the second-oldest of five kids and had two of his younger cousins living with him in Oak Cliff, Texas for a short time. Dalton’s younger siblings look up to him and he is seen as a father figure by his two cousins. His career-of-choice requires experience and skill, and because of that, his education is important to him. He has spent the last few weeks in various camps around the U.S., along with having been offered scholarships to colleges around the country.
Due to facing trials and hardships, Dalton is determined to protect his family from the same difficulties that he faced growing up.
“They all have their own parental problems that can be solved and I feel like I’m the solution. I’m the glue to helping them.”
Spending nearly every summer in Alabama with his extended family he experienced violence and the struggles of a run-down city. Dalton’s lifestyle is dictated by the mantra, “change is inevitable, growth is optional.” Throughout his freshman year of high school, he was experiencing difficulties in his classes along with his personal life. The following year, he decided to turn his circumstances around, worked hard to improve his grades, and find solutions to his problems. Ultimately, he has realized the responsibility he holds as the person his younger siblings look up to, the impact he has on his cousins, and the many ways he influences them.
“Everyone changes, you don’t have a choice in that, but you do get to choose what you do with that change. You get to decide if it’s good or bad.”
