Javontey Stewart graduated from J.L. Mann High School when he was 17 years old. A 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman at the time, he earned a full-ride scholarship at a Division 1 school, his NFL dream now within field goal range. Then came some bruising tackles.
That was in 2012, when new NCAA eligibility requirements contributed to sacking his scholarship at North Carolina A&T. So he transferred to the private Saint Augustine’s University, another HBCU. That lasted a semester, the Atlanta native said.
“I just didn’t truly have my head wrapped around what it meant to be a college student, and it just didn’t quite work out for me as I had intended,” he said.
He suited up again for academia, this time at Greenville Technical College, for the first time in spring 2014 and then again in fall 2016.
“Unfortunately, I just didn’t see the long-term vision or purpose in it,” he said.
Next, he bounced around various jobs in automotive manufacturing, production assembly, as a car rental agent, sales associate, production associate and supply chain warehouse operations, among others.
Last year, a new vision appeared to him during his frequent drives along North Pleasantburg Drive — Greenville Tech’s park-like Barton campus.
“Just driving past it gave me a feeling I had needed to finish something that I started,” the 29-year-old said. “I always said that Tech kind of gave you a four years’ view.”
Stewart is close to earning an associate’s degree in science and a bachelor’s in computer information systems. He is also part of Greenville Tech’s innovative African American Male Scholars Initiative. On Oct. 22, Greenville Technical Foundation’s Champions for Student Success will feature him at its premier annual event to be held in the sparkling new Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences.
He has become something of a fixture in the new Barton building, which houses a variety of disciplines beyond health care. Stewart is finishing up his high-tech coursework there.
“Javontey Stewart is the kind of student who lifts other’s spirits,” said Michael Burgess, AAMSI director, who noted that Stewart often drops by the office. “We ask what we can do for him. Most times he simply smiles and says, ‘Oh, nothing, I was just stopping by to check y’all out.’ It’s pretty cool to have a student whose journey has progressed to the point that he seems to be gliding into home base with no worries whatsoever.”
Today, the former football star and soon-to-be college graduate plans to become a high school football coach or athletic director, hopefully in Greenville.
“It’s just crazy everything that is coming toward me, everything that I currently have,” Stewart said, expressing his gratitude to Greenville Tech and GTF for opportunities and awards. “I have the maturity and the level-mindedness to understand life and what it throws at you. Recognition will come if you take pride in what you’re doing. Eventually, it will come. I don’t do anything for recognition. I just put my best foot forward.”
Javontey ‘Jay’ Stewart
Scholar at Greenville Technical College
Resume and selected accomplishments
- “Magnetic salesperson with thorough experience”
- Greenville Tech Dean’s List 2024
- Power industrial equipment operator at Grainger, Simpsonville
- Warehouse supervisor at PGW Auto Glass, Greenville
- Outbound sales at Spectrum, Simpsonville
- Automotive assembler at MAU@BMW, Greer
Source: LinkedIn
