Walt Interviews Jeermal Sylvester – Rise Through The Fire
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Jeermal “Mr. Me Too” Sylvester is the epitome of a winner. He overcame fatherlessness, poverty, and the pain of a broken home to become one of the more accomplished basketball players in the state of Indiana. After a four-year professional basketball career, Jeermal continues to make a significant impact on young athletes and disadvantaged youth by sharing his testimony of overcoming obstacles and his motivational message to ‘rise through the fire.’ Jeermal was sent from Chicago, Illinois by his Mom to live with relatives in South Bend, Indiana as a small child. He learned to channel his bottled-up feelings of abandonment and resentment into basketball. He quickly became one of the top high school basketball players in Indiana. He broke records, earned a spot on the 1990 Indiana All-Star team, and accepted a full athletic scholarship to Ball State – a Division I university. Jeermal continued to excel at the collegiate level. He was expected to play in the NBA. However, during his senior season, he was involved in a physical altercation with a teammate and suspended from the team indefinitely. This ruined his chance at achieving his NBA dream. Jeermal is always persistent. He didn’t give up on his professional sports goals. He played professional basketball in Europe. After four years, he experienced a career-ending knee injury. He was devastated. Faced with the fear of losing the one outlet he had for his pain. Jeermal used his Criminology and Psychology of Human Development studies from college to help other students, athletes, and adults through the same obstacles that he had faced. He began to use his wisdom to help others rise through the fire! Jeermal works with leading organizations, such as the Indiana Department of Corrections, St Joe County Community Corrections, Heroes Camp Inc, and EmployIndy. He speaks at various summits, conferences, schools, and events. When youth, college students, athletes, and adults talk about the worst of their life experiences, Jeermal found himself saying, “Me too!” The expression quickly became his nickname. Mr. “Me Too” is a motivational speaker, Certified Youth Specialist, and the CEO of Beauty for Ashes Inc. Jeermal has found success beyond sports. He teaches the same proven principles and steps that allowed the three-time college dropout to push through the noise and complete his degree after 24 years.