August 25, 2022  |  EFCTS Communications

Bridges. Opportunities. Value.

These words embodied the message delivered by a Buckeye Football great who generously donated his time and wisdom to the students at Fairfield Career Center (FCC) on the first two days of the new school year.

Roy Hall Jr., a wide receiver for the Buckeyes from 2003 to 2007, sat in front of two capacity crowds inside the multi-purpose room at FCC to deliver a message of hope and encouragement as students began their first days of school. 

Hall, who is now a prominent corporate speaker and executive coach following a professional football career, began by telling a personal story about serving others when opportunities present themselves, and what you may learn about those people that differ from the misconceptions we build ourselves. 

Hall then transitioned into the role of a bridge, stating that its purpose is to help us get from Point A to Point B. Relating that to our lives, he counted the 45 staff members in the room and pointed out to the students that each staff member can be a bridge to help them get from where they are to where they want to go in their lives. Hall also emphasized a bridge has no purpose if it is not used, so the act of asking for help and using that bridge is essential in getting to the desired destination.

As the address came to a crescendo, Hall introduced a story about his former teammate and Ohio State walk-on punter/wide receiver Tyson Gentry who was injured during a practice and was paralyzed. Hall walked students through an exercise that displayed a community’s need for one another in order to be successful and in response to critical times in our lives. He went on to tell how Tyson has since started his own foundation built to serve the needs of those hospitalized due to spinal cord injuries and how a “We Over Me” mentality can better ourselves and others. 

As the event came to a close, Hall made sure that the main takeaways from his presentation were clear. Three phrases rang throughout the building as he asked students and staff to repeat the following:

We all need each other.

We all have value.

We all matter. You matter.

Thank you to Mr. Hall for spending time with our students at Fairfield Career Center and delivering such an important and inspiring message. Thank you to the staff at FCC, especially Assistant Principal Mrs. Dakia Washington, for organizing this event to promote a strong start to the school year.

Roy Hall Jr. is a Cleveland native and played football and basketball at Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio, where he was also an accomplished scholar. Hall played collegiately at The Ohio State University under then-head coach Jim Tressel, where he became a Big Ten champion and helped the Buckeyes to the 2007 BCS National Championship game. He was drafted into the NFL in the fifth round by the Indianapolis Colts and spent time in his career with the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions. In those years he played for Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and alongside future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. He is now a motivational and corporate speaker and coach, as well as the founder of the Driven Foundation.