ATLANTA – Former Valdosta High School and University of Georgia football player Malcolm Mitchell has been invited to share his journey with The Steve Harvey Show.
His taping will air Wednesday, April 27. Check The Steve Harvey Show website for local listings.
“The only boundaries are those we create for ourselves” is a phrase often used by the Valdosta, Georgia native. Malcolm Mitchell, born to Pratina Woods, spent the majority of his childhood in a single parent household where his older brother steered him away from poor decisions and his younger sister, through constant criticism, made sure he remained level headed.
Malcolm’s family faced financial difficulty, but nothing great enough to deter him from gravitating to his hometown tradition, football. Immediately, Malcolm began to show a consistent athletic skill set as he excelled on the football field. He began to be recognized nationally for his talent on the grid iron, received numerous college offers, was named an Under Armour All-American and became one of the most talented athletes in his high school’s history.
Football became a mentor, a father-figure, and a lifelong friend helping him transcend beyond the white lines, and created opportunities where none seemed to have existed before. Malcolm accepted an offer to attend the University of Georgia as a student/athlete.
During his freshman year in college, Malcolm noticed his ability to thrive on the field did not match his success in the classroom and everyday life skills. As a struggling reader he began to tackle this challenge, hoping this would help him reach his full potential.
Today, Malcolm is an avid reader, active member of a book club and reading mentor to elementary school students. His inspirational story, which won the College Sports Media Awards Outstanding Special Feature, has been featured nationally on CBS Evening News, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA Today, CNN, NFL Network, The Steve Harvey Show and has been used by many schools as encouragement for students to embrace the importance of reading.
This year Malcolm was featured in Sport’s Illustrated Kids during National Reading Month.
In 2015, he was named National Captain of the Allstate Good Works Team (1st student ever at UGA to win this honor), and in 2016 was awarded the Haier Ultimate Achievement Award. Malcolm received an invitation to the 2016 Savannah Book Festival, a rare achievement for a first time self-published author, and in November 2015 his book became the highest selling book in the history of the UGA Bookstore.
Recently, Malcolm received the Atlanta Sports Council Community Spirit Award, UGA 2016 Athlete of the Year and the Georgia Chapter of the National College Football Hall of Fame Jack Turner Award.
