By Joslin Tinline, Plainview High School, Ardmore
From sports podcasting to working with young Afghan refugees, one thing remains true for 17-year-old Jaxon McElwee: He finds meaning in bettering people’s lives.
Jaxon is the oldest of the siblings in his household. He lives with his mom and her fiancé. Jaxon is involved in his church, South Tulsa Baptist Church, which helps Afghan families by giving Afghan dads jobs and teaching their wives how to handle money and learn English.
“I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for people in need, more so for kids,” Jaxon said. “I love working with kids.”
Jaxon specifically involves himself with the lives of the kids ages 7-12, playing with them, teaching them and helping them become more comfortable with such a huge change. They provide snacks and ways to keep them active, and though they don’t provide entire meals, they allow them to take as many snacks home as they need.
Jaxon helps keep his community involvement alive by participating in a church basketball league. One season, the league made the championship. Jaxon also plays disc golf with his friends as well with the church.
“It’s really hard,” he said. “But me and some of my friends, we all go and play that. And I’m not very good. But I still try.”
Along with community service, Jaxon found his love for sports broadcasting and podcasting. His goal is to be on the radio doing what Toby Rowland, a sports broadcaster in Oklahoma City and the voice of OU football, does. Jaxon said he does not have a time frame for his goal, he believes as long as he puts his heart to it and keeps on working that opportunities will come.
Jaxon has begun his journey to success already, he has a podcast called Sooner Surge, and has a website called Surge Sports Network. On the podcast he talks about all Sooner sports, and even has inspired many people to find their own love for it. One fan in particular, Taylor, reached out to Jaxon and his team and said they helped him realize his love for journalism because he saw teenagers like Jaxon doing what he wanted to do. Even in what Jaxon loves to do, he helps others find what they want to do as well.
In order to achieve this, Jaxon feels he must graduate college, because neither of his parents did and he hopes to be the first in his immediate family to do so.
Jaxon said he hopes to find a level of success that would allow his mom to retire and live with him without worrying about providing for herself. “I love people and want to see them succeed,” Jaxon said.
