ACKEEM West, a sports management major at Emmanuel College in Royston, Georgia, USA, recently made the Presidential Honour Roll (for fall 2017 semester). This was his third time making the list.

It has been a rough and rocky road for the 24-year-old West, who plays volleyball for Emmanuel College, a sport he pursued while attending the G C Foster College.

“Well, being on the honour roll for the third time means a lot to me. It pushes me to want to be on it every time. With other external factors like family and close friends, leaving high school with two CXC subjects was hard, but that didn’t stop me. I told myself that I had to make it better, so this is a huge accomplishment for me and my family,” West told the Jamaica Observer in an interview on Friday.

With one more year left to complete his course of study at Emmanuel College (he is the only Jamaican attending the institution), West got into college by way of an athletic scholarship for volleyball. He attended the G C Foster College for a year before taking up the scholarship.

Prior to studying at G C Foster College of Physica Education and Sport, West studied airconditioning and refrigeration repairs at the Portmore HEART Academy in St Catherine.

“I got involved in volleyball when I was in high school. It all started with the coach — Mr Patterson. I went one evening for a tryout and he liked what I put towards the table and he pushed me. But I lost interest and he came back and encouraged me not to stop because he felt that I could go a far way. So, I went back to practice and since then I have been playing”, West said.

“After high school I went to Venus Volleyball Club’s training and that’s where I saw volleyball on a higher perspective. Mr Findlay was my coach at that time and he also was one of the persons behind my success today when it comes to volleyball and being a better person,” West continued.

West plans to pursue his master’s degree, but he is still undecided about what exactly he will pursue.

“It’s really hard but I have to do what I have to just to survive. It’s no fun having to leave from class and head straight to practice with little time to study and little or no social life. Sometimes after practice all I want to do is sleep but there’s work to be done so I have to do that. But I am doing what I have to do to make my future better, he said.

A resident of Old Harbour Bay in St Catherine, West was raised by his mother.

Emmanuel College came out on top at the Conference Carolinas Presidential Honour Roll for the fall 2017 semester, consisting of 2,198 student athletes with GPAs 3.2 or above. West is among the 334 student athletes who made the cut at Emmanuel.