Jalen is from Birmingham, Alabama and the second winner from Ramsay High School in Birmingham. Jalen will be pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at Tennessee State University starting in the fall of ’22. Jalen’s story is incredible – in the 9th grade he suffered severe heat stroke during a football practice and was in a coma for two weeks. He returned to school two months later, but his physical therapy lasted for 8 months. He admired the calm, positive influence of his physical therapist during those long months and one can easily see that he has that calm, confident and positive nature about him today. He will graduate tenth in a class of more than 200, and is part of the Technology Student Association, the International Baccalaureate Program and even returned to football as a starter and captain (after enduring another long physical recovery from a torn ACL his junior year). He told us that “although many probably could not imagine facing such a challenging event, I would not have changed my story even if I could.” We believe Jalen has an incredible life in front of him that will positively impact so many people, and we can’t wait to support him and watch it unfold.