My Wake Reflection: Donald Stewart

I entered my name into the athletics transfer portal in December 2020. At the time, I had no idea where I would end up or how this whole new process would turn out, but I knew it was time for a change. I was ready to take on a new chapter of my life. I wanted a new beginning, a new chosen family, and a fresh start to my journey.
 
When I arrived at Stanford University in 2016, I was just a kid from New Jersey excited to play college football in California. It was a dream come true. By the time I entered the transfer portal, I was young man preparing to leave behind four years’ worth of memories and relationships. I was overwhelmed with emotions and often juggled the overwhelming thought of playing my last year with a completely different team. Through much prayer and support from my family, I felt confident that it was time.

All it took was one visit in January 2020 for me to decide that Wake Forest would be my new home. Deep down, I knew Wake would be a good fit. It was an opportunity to get my masters, to be closer to home, and to play in a spread offense against the top teams in the ACC. It was also an opportunity rep black and gold, my high school colors at Paramus Catholic. It almost seemed like a no brainer – a subtle nod back to my roots as the kid whose dream was to play college football.

 

When I got sent home from Stanford on March 13, 2020, due to the pandemic, I began to think that maybe I wouldn’t ever actually attend Wake Forest University .

 

It was the height of the pandemic when I arrived at Wake three months later. All my stuff had been boxed and shipped from Stanford to an apartment in North Carolina. Meanwhile, I had no clue if or how we would even play the 2020 season. 

 

That offseason was awful, between not being able to leave campus, watching social injustice riots replay on tv, and practicing with covid masks over our face in 95-degree weather, I was ready to be done with football.

 

In this moment, there was one person who made sure I stayed strong and found a way to make the most of my situation: Dwight Lewis. Before we could meet in person, Dwight emailed me every week to learn about my upbringing, my time at Stanford, and my future goals. Over many conversations, he always stressed the importance of mentorship, strong relationships, and good food.

 

For months, Dwight checked in with me every single…