An OCU cheerleader is a nominee for the Dr. Leroy Walker Champion of Character Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Devaunjue Williams, religion junior, is the only member of the OCU student body nominated for the award. The award was named after a former NAIA president. Only students who are juniors or older can be nominated. The prize for winning the award is $1,000, a plaque and recognition at an annual function in conjunction with the NAIA National Convention. The characteristics judged are academic success, ambition and initiative.
The last OCU student to be nominated for the award was cross-country runner Kaitlin Pontikes in 2015.
Williams is the caretaker of Andre and Anthony, his 10-year-old nephews. The boys moved into his apartment in Cokesbury Court on March 1 and still reside there.
“We come from a family that has some history,” Williams said. “So, right now, my goal is kind of trying to rewrite some of our history and help future generations thrive.”
Cheer Coach Alicia Bailey said, while Williams has cared for these boys for months, the initial transition to caretaker was quite sudden.
“Jay, last year, kind of got an idea that he was going to take his nephews in,” Bailey said. “Started preparing for it, kind of knew he was going to have to move apartments and things like that, but about a week and a half before nationals, he got a call from DHS saying, ‘We’re dropping the kids off tonight. Like, eight o’clock tonight.’ And he wasn’t expecting to get them until after school was out.”
Bailey said Williams thought he would have to quit the team, but she made compromises with him so that he could stay on.
Williams said Andre and Anthony love seeing him perform, and they were happy to hear that he is still a member of the cheer team. He said they attend his competitions and practices, and they also love to spend time around campus and experience college life. In doing so, they have made quite a few friends out of OCU students, Williams said.
“They definitely consider themselves famous,” he said. “Everyone on campus pretty much knows them, so it’s pretty cool. They feel like celebrities. That’s what they call themselves all the time. Now they’re just waiting on their big break. Hopefully they can meet Ellen. I would love to meet Ellen, so that’s our next goal.”
Bethany Stanley, religious education junior, is a friend of Williams and the boys.
“Jay is probably one of the most dedicated and strongest people I know,” Stanley said. “I’m 20, so I can’t imagine being 21 and all of a sudden having two 9-year-olds.”
Williams said Anthony and Andre have substantially benefitted him. He said a good example of this occurred when he drove around the city with his nephews and they passed a car broken down in the middle of an intersection. Williams didn’t give much thought to it, he said, but then he went back, pushed the car out of the intersection, bought the low-income family gas, and conversed with them.
“Because the boys asked me to do it. We talk about loving and accepting everyone and that plays a big role in their lives,” Williams said. “We helped these people, and it probably wouldn’t have happened if the boys weren’t in the car with me.”
Williams said he is honored to be the only member of the Sooner Athletic Conference of the NAIA nominated for the Dr. Leroy Walker Champion of Character Award. Dr. Leroy Walker was the first African-American president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Williams said he is grateful to be associated with a man so prominent in the African-American community.
The winner of the Dr. Leroy Walker Champion of Character Award winner will be announced in December.
“I’ve shared his story with everyone at our staff meeting,” Bailey said. “I nominated him for our Jim Wade Award last year. And then the athletic department wanted to take it and nominate him further. He truly has a great character.”
Courtesy of Kat Evans Photography
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