For Parsons, a long-held dream gets closer to becoming a reality
Micah Parsons didn’t wait on the Big Ten’s cancelation of all fall sports to make his decision for the 2020 season.
Five days before the conference’s stunning announcement, the All-American linebacker revealed via social media that he would be skipping his final season of eligibility as a Nittany Lion. Noting that he’d felt safe amidst the health standards Penn State had implemented for its preseason, “the potential risks to the health and wellbeing of” his son “far outweighed” his urge to play football. With that, his career as a Nittany Lion was over.
As Parsons reminded his Twitter followers Monday morning, though, his career as a Penn Stater is not.
Just as he’d stressed in his announcement video that his “dream was to receive a degree from a prestigious institution,” Parsons reiterated that the start of the university’s fall academic calendar on Monday also meant the start of his final steps toward a Penn State degree.
“I will be graduating early and receiving my degree in December,” Parsons said in his announcement video. “I’ve kept my word to Coach Franklin because leaving Penn State with my degree in hand was my main goal when I stepped on campus.”
The reality, of course, is that Parsons’ pursuit of a Penn State degree isn’t a new ingredient to his life’s journey.
Describing his summer goals in a May interview with BWI, Parsons immediately pointed to a fall graduation as one of his top priorities. And as he explained, the goal carried extra weight in his motivations, finding a variety of sources to draw inspiration from as he continued to work toward a degree.
“It ranks number one for me,” Parsons said. “People didn't think I was going to make it to college, let alone stay in college. And then to walk away with my degree in three years would be tremendous for me and my family. So that's my number one priority. I'm so close and I want to get that done for myself and the university.”
That Parsons is now in a position to do so is something he describes as an “adrenaline” shot of inspiration, sensing the proximity of the personal academic accomplishment.
Pointing to the voices that might have doubted his sincerity toward receiving a degree at Penn State, Parsons added that his personal belief in his ability to get it never wavered. Instead relying on the encouragement of teammates like Jesse Luketa and defensive coordinator Brent Pry, each of whom frequently helped to provide positive feedback through the journey, Parsons remained on track with his academic pursuits.
“It didn't bother me,” Parsons said of those who doubted him. “I knew it, and this is just something I can add to it and something that no one could take from me. It just gave me an unbelievable amount of self-motivation and an unbelievable amount of determination to get it done. Having that type of noise in your ear of what everybody's gotta say.
"But peoples' perception of you can change. You gotta turn haters into believers. That's all I'm trying to do.”
Whether he receives his diploma in December by walking across a stage at the Bryce Jordan Center or has to collect it in a virtual ceremony due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Parsons very much intends to see one of his longstanding aspiration come to fruition.
“I knew from the day I stepped on campus. I'm like, no one thought you'd be here. That's no reason why you shouldn't be here. Let's get it,” Parsons said. “So from day one, I wanted to make sure I got my degree. I wanted to start on the right path and everything. I knew what I had to do.”
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