Justin Collins and Donaven Spencer
Highlighted in College Basketball Times
By : Lauren Yancer
In December 2021 , student-athletes Justin Collins ’ 21 and Donaven Spencer ’ 21 sat down with A . J . Moore from The College Basketball Times to discuss their lives after graduating from GMercyU . Collins and Spencer are both graduate students now but continue to lead the Griffins as they pave their own path in life .
The College Basketball Times article dives into the life of Justin Collins who is currently enrolled in GMercyU ’ s Master ’ s of Educational Administration graduate program . In addition , he is working as a full-time ninth grade teacher at Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice . Collins decided to play basketball as a graduate student and full-time teacher after being denied his final season as an undergraduate student due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In the article , Collins expressed that for him , the team was like a family , and he wasn ’ t quite ready to give up the community when the season was cut short after only two games last year .
John Baron , GMercyU Men ’ s Basketball Head Coach , told The College Basketball Times that DIII players differ from DI players in the sense that their lives may require additional jobs to make ends meet . Such is the case for Donaven Spencer . Spencer continues to work hard with jobs at FedEx and Wawa , while also working towards his Master ’ s in Business Administration at GMercyU . His dream is to use his degree in sports management and his MBA to help land a job working for the NBA . He expressed to The College Basketball Times that the COVID-19 pandemic taught him not to take anything for granted , which is why he is thankful for the opportunity to be in school .
Photo L . to R .: Justin Collins , Men ' s Basketball Head Coach John Baron , and Donaven Spencer
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