%photo1When your normal college student graduates, they generally don’t have their dream job lined up and ready to walk into. And while being drafted to play professional football is anything but ordinary, senior Chad Nkang insists he is just your typical 21-year-old American boy, preparing to graduate.

“The people, the little Elon bubble, the bars, I’m going to miss all that,” Nkang said. “Mostly just my closest friends here; I’m going to miss you, call and keep in touch.”

Nkang, a native of Hyattsville, Md., said the relationships he has formed here have been a major component of his Elon experience, whether it was on the field with his teammates or at his house playing Xbox and hanging with friends.

“[Being here], it’s a culture shock. There are so many new things and different people and it opens your eyes to what the world is really about,” he said.

After coming close to expulsion his sophomore year, the computer information systems and art major said he refocused to get his life back in line.

“I realized how privileged I was to be in school and that I was given the opportunities to overcome it,” he said. “It let me know that I should pretty much work hard while I’m here because a lot of kids would love to be in my, or any other Elon student’s, position.”

While he has struggled with obstacles like any other young adult, he said his mother, Glenna, has remained his constant inspiration to excel.

“Being a single parent, it wasn’t easy being able to raise two little boys. She has been very strong,” Nkang said. “I would call her and she would tell me things are going to be okay, that there’s nothing to really control. She was always kind of my rock.”

Merely shadowing his older brother by picking up a ball in elementary school when he began playing little league with the Boys and Girls Club, Nkang soon became Elon’s starting middle linebacker, two-time All-American, three-time All-Conference player, a two-time national leader in tackles and a seventh round, 251st overall NFL draft pick.

“I would love to play football over getting a job and be able to stay active and do something competitive [as] opposed to sitting in an office from nine to five,” he said. “I love playing the game. It’s fun and most of my memories are from when all 98 of us all get together and run around and play a little bit on the field.”

But as he prepares to close this chapter of his life and packs his belongings to move to his mother’s condo in Florida, Nkang is enjoying his time left with the people that have made such an impact in his life.

Throwing a party at West End Bar a few weeks ago for his peers to share in his good fortune, Nkang was surrounded by his friends and teammates as they celebrated the Elon community’s mini-celebrity.

“I get little comments here and there since I’m in a little bit of the spotlight because of the whole athletic thing, but the only way people treat me different is to say congratulations and introduce themselves,” he said. “I’m the same guy.”

Special Features Editor: Andie Diemer - 05/17/07