>>MOE: My name is Maurice Lee. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but I've been here for the past 10 years. I'm a graduate from the Ohio State University, Spring of 2004. I work here at the Ohio State University SASSO Department Student Athlete Support Services, and I'm an Assistant Counselor/Mentor.

>>NARRATOR 1: So while you were here at Ohio State, you played football. Did you have any struggles academically-wise to keep your grades up to play?

>>MOE: Yeah, my first year here, which was summer of '99. I came in as, what they call, a Proposition 48, so I wasn't eligible my first year. The transition from high school to college was kind of difficult for me, coming from a small Public school in Cleveland to this big university. I was pretty much lost. I struggled with some of my Math and English classes. To be honest, I hate math. I wasn't really good at math, and English. I like to read, but if it wasn't interesting to me then I wouldn't read it. As far as the Reading subject, I struggled with my writing. I can think about what I want to write, but it was hard just to put it on paper. The institute services that I had, they helped me out a lot, helped me be able to express what I'm thinking on paper. I know a lot of people who struggled with that also: being able to think what they want to write, but can't actually put it on paper. That was one of my struggles while transferring from high school to college.

>>NARRATOR 2: So do you think that the tutors, with having football, do you think it helped your experience? Because if you hadn't been playing football, and had all those tutors, you might not have had the tutors helping you? Would you say that helped?

>>MOE: Yeah, the tutors definitely helped. We had the instructors and the TAs there, but the tutors were who suppose to be, you can say, experts at this subject, they would break things down little by little for me to help me understand whatever the material was. They definitely helped me. They are one of the reasons why I got back on the field.

>>NARRATOR 2: That's awesome.

>>NARRATOR 1: Was there ever a time when you weren't allowed to play because of your grades? Did you have to keep your grades up to a certain standard?

>>MOE: Well, I had to prove myself that first quarter to bring my grades up. It was tough. I'm not going to sit here and lie. It was tough with the school work and  knowing that I wanted to be out there playing with my teammates. It was a struggle for me, but I had a drive. I wanted to get back out there, so I did what I had to take to get back out there. I did the work.

>>NARRATOR 2: So you'd say that football was your drive to get better at writing and math also?

>>MOE: Yes and no. At the same time I needed to graduate. That was one of my other goals; I wanted to make sure I'd graduate. So I'd say, along with football, was to make sure I get my education.

>>NARRATOR 2: What was your major?

>>MOE: Sport and Leisure Studies. I didn't mention it, but right now I'm actually in my Grad program for Sports Management. I'm working on my Masters to American Military Universities. I'm taking classes online. I should be finished by May of 2011.

>>NARRATOR 2: That's great.

>>NARRATOR 1: Sounds awesome.

[Narrator 1 laughs]

>>NARRATOR 2: What do you want to do with that degree?

>>MOE: Well, right now, I work here as an Assistant Counselor. It's an Internship. So I think I want to be in the Advising program. I like working with students. I know what they are going through, the Student Athletes. I know what they are going through with the pressures they have to deal with; with classes, practice, of course socializing, all that. I just like being able to see them succeed. I think I want to go into Advising.

>>NARRATOR 2: That's really great. Do you remember the first time you learned to read like in grade school?

>>MOE: It was in Kindergarten? First grade? Something like that. It was a long time ago. I didn't really think about it. It was Kindergarten, I think?

>>NARRATOR 2: Did you like reading then?

>>MOE: Yeah, I did, but now, I'm going to be honest, I hate reading. If the story's interesting, I'll sit down and read the whole thing, but More than likely, I won't take the time to just sit down and read, but I wouldn't advice that to anybody. I would encourage everybody else to read. What do they say? "Reading is fundamental"?

>>NARRATOR 2: Yeah.

>>NARRATOR 1: I was going to ask you, in high school, you obviously came here for football. Did you get a scholarship?

>>MOE: Yeah, I received a scholarship, but the thing was, my grades in high school were great, but I didn't do well on my ACT or SAT scores. So that's where I struggled. I hate to say it, but I didn't have a strong academic school. Where I came from, it wasn't academically strong. I don't regret it because I got a degree, and I'm working on another degree.

>>NARRATOR 2: That's great.

>>NARRATOR 1: so the first quarter you were here, they just wanted you to improve  that?

>>MOE: Yeah, they just wanted me to basically focus on academics, that was my whole thing. I could work out, but not with the team, I had to work out by myself. It was me and maybe two other guys. 

>>NARRATOR 1: They were in the same boat as you?

>>MOE: Yeah, they were in the same boat as me. It was just us three working out. They are out there practicing, and you know you want to be out there too.

>>NARRATOR 1: So you were basically a Red Shirt then?

>>MOE: No it wasn't a Red Shirt. I did what they called a "Red Shirt Work Out" but I was academically ineligible.

>>NARRATOR 1: Okay, got you. So you played the three years after that?

>>MOE: I got my grades up by the end of that year, so I they gave me a year back. So I played for 4 years. So I was a 5th year.