Former Ohio State football player speaks to ZHS students

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- A former Ohio State football player stopped by Zanesville High School to share a message with the students.

Donald Washington III spoke to the juniors and seniors this afternoon about overcoming adversity. Washington said outside of his high school football coach he didn’t know many people that had walked the same path as him and could help him find his way. Now he’s making it his mission to be an example for others.

“I think it’s very important to give back. Like I said, I grew up in a less fortunate environment so to speak,” said Washington. “And I didn’t have people who were walking in the footsteps or walking in the shoes I wanted to. I didn’t have very many successful people coming back to shed the light on me.  So a lot of my dreams for a certain point of time seemed like I couldn’t reach them.”

Washington said he has visited Zanesville a few times and sees that some of the kids struggle with things he went through growing up. So he wanted to encourage them to keep pursuing their dreams.

“Just learning this community, learning the town I see that they kind of struggle with things that I struggled with growing up,” said Washington. “So I just kind of want to shed some light on them; help them understand that the circumstances don’t define them. That they can rise above them and just kind of navigate through some of the problems that  they may be having.”

Washington said it’s important for the kids to know that they should always be themselves and that they should never give up.

“If I could just touch somebody or if they could relate to me just being in their presence, I think that gives them a little hope that even though their dreams may seem far away they can work towards them,” said Washington. “Just rise above your challenges. Rise above your circumstances. They don’t define you. It’s only if you let them.”

Washington played for the Buckeyes for four seasons before entering the NFL draft in 2009. He went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Toronto Argonauts, and then the Pittsburgh Steelers.