WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Former Grizzly Basketball player Tommie Mabry will return to the Missouri State University-West Plains campus Oct. 20 to share his story of how basketball and the discipline it provided helped him overcome life’s obstacles.
His presentations will be at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Melton Hall Room 112 on the Missouri State-West Plains campus. His visit is being sponsored by the Multicultural Support Committee at Missouri State-West Plains and is free and open to all.
“Only rarely do you get to hear the ‘after-story’ with students, especially students like Tommie Mabry, who came to Missouri State-West Plains from out of the area then went back home for his career. What a privilege it will be to hear the memories of his time here and, more importantly, to hear how he was able to put all those pieces of his life together – including his time as a Grizzly –to over come his obstacles and to eventually reach his goals with such success,” said Dennis Lancaster, interim dean of academic affairs.
Mabry, who played for the Grizzlies during the 2007-08 season, grew up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Jackson, Mississippi, according to his biography on his website, http://tommiemabrycom.ipower.com/. As a youth, he was arrested for breaking into the state fairgrounds, kicked out of school for behavioral issues, and was shot twice. Then he met Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, who took him on the road with his AAU basketball team, during which time Mabry developed the focus and discipline he needed to become a model citizen.
He became the first person in his family to attend college and the first to receive a college degree – a Bachelor of Arts in Education which he eventually earned in May 2011 from Tougaloo College in his hometown. He is now a teacher in the same school district he attended as a child and is the youngest published author in the state of Mississippi. His book, A Dark Journey to a Light Future, which tells the story about his experiences and ability to rise above the obstacles in his way, was published in 2012.
For more information about the presentations, contact the Missouri State-West Plains academic affairs office at 417-255-7272.