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Michael Metosky came to ��������Ƶ underprepared for the rigors of college, but ��������Ƶ’s TRIO Student Success Program and his faculty and staff mentors helped him earn both an undergraduate degree in Sports Management and his MBA from ��������Ƶ.

Today, Metosky works for the Miami Dolphins football team in a highly-coveted sales job, which put him on the field for last year’s Super Bowl.

“If it wasn’t for the TRIO program, I don’t know what I would have done,” he said. “I would have taken a completely different path in life.”

Metosky said he struggled in high school, graduating with just a 2.1 GPA. He grew up in a low-income household and was the first in his family to attend college. He did not have anyone in his immediate circle who could offer guidance. He said ��������Ƶ’s community saw promise in him.

“My faculty members and the TRIO program staff invested a ton of time in me. I just didn’t see my own promise,” he said. “��������Ƶ opened a lot of doors and windows for me.”

But he also put in hard work, graduating with a 3.5 GPA and going on to earn his MBA while working multiple jobs, often staying up until 2 a.m. to study.

After earning his MBA, Michael was managing gyms in the Pittsburgh area when he decided to make a move to South Florida. He applied for a sales job with the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins along with about 2,000 other people.

"��������Ƶ opened a lot of doors and windows for me."

He was among fewer than 50 people who went through a rigorous interview process and was one of only nine hired. While that was a pressure-filled situation that included seven interviews, Michael had to prove himself after being hired by earning a promotion within a year or risk being let go.

Three years later, he works in group sales with the Dolphins and spends his spare time speaking with at-risk youth. He regularly speaks with TRIO program students around the country about what he has been able to accomplish thanks to the program. He’s most recently spoken with students from Kentucky to Alaska.

When Metosky goes home to West Mifflin and sees some of his old friends, they express how proud they are of how far he’s come. He was even able to purchase a home for his mother.

“I’m building and then I’m going back,” he said. “Someday I plan to open a nonprofit that’s a one-stop shop for people who want to chase their dreams.”

This story originally appeared in ��������Ƶ’s alumni magazine, Forward.