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Apr 2010  |  By Susan B. Noyes  |  Comments (0)

Amazing Kids - Jeffrey Brown

TAGS: May 2010 magazine, Jeffrey Brown, Evanston township High School, University of Miami, Susan B Noyes

At 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, with a smile that lights up an entire arena, Jeffrey Brown is a State Champion, Honor Roll student and human teddy bear. In February, he won the State Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.

But you won’t find him wrestling next year—he'll be too busy playing football at University of Miami, on a full scholarship.

“Wrestling made me a good defensive tackle. I’m swift in the hips and have big hands and long arms,” he says. We place our hands together, and he grins, seeing that my fingertips barely extend above his palms. “It’s all about leverage, being tough, being able to use your hands and get off the blocks fast," he explains.

Wrestling helped make him a great football player. His mother, Eva Fullilove, and his family, helped make him a great person.

“I just said hold on to your dreams. They make greatness,” Fullilove says. Even as a single parent working as a Certified Nursing Assistant—up to 16 hours a day—she made sure her son stayed on track.

Her smile is as effervescent as his.

“Jeffrey’s an amazing young man. He cares about other people. Wherever we go, even at the State Championship, wrestlers from other teams come over to talk to him,” Fullilove says, beaming. “It shows his good character.”

So does the Kiwanis Club award he recently received for scholarship, leadership and athletics.

Jeffrey is the youngest of four siblings, and the first person in his family to go to college. His mother, who set standards by never missing a game or school event, speaks with pride about all of her children, and Jeffrey's two brothers and sister are huge sources of support.

“When I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing, my brother Dean is the one who calls me out,” he says.

His is a tight-knit, loving family. “I’ve enjoyed my four years at ETHS,” Jeffrey says, “and I love my mom.”

To read more inspiring stories about amazing kids, or to nominate an amazing kid you know for the "Amazing Kids! of the Month" award, visit the Amazing Kids! website, amazing-kids.org. Amazing Kids! is a children's educational non-profit organization dedicated to helping inspire excellence in children while helping them to realize their own amazing potential."