New England
Patriots wide receiver and award-winning children’s book author Malcolm J. Mitchell will give the keynote speech during Salt Lake Community College’s 2018
commencement ceremony May 4.
Malcolm J. Mitchell
Mitchell is well
known for his role as wide receiver on the New England Patriots and helping the
team win a Super Bowl in 2017. But in literary circles, particularly among
young readers, he’s been receiving a lot of attention off the playing field. While a student athlete at the
University of Georgia, Mitchell was recognized as the National Captain of the
Allstate Good Works Team for his frequent visits to elementary schools to read
to students and talk about literacy, the first student ever at UGA to win this
honor. He also received the National Haier Achievement Award for his success
beyond athletics.
During his freshman
year in college, Mitchell developed a love of reading. Initially, reading was a
challenge. Through perseverance, books became an avenue for expanding his
curiosity, creativity and learning. In 2015, the year he graduated from UGA, he
authored and published a children’s book, The Magician’s Hat. Mitchell received
a coveted invitation to the Savannah Book Festival, a rare achievement for a
first-time self-published author. His book became the highest selling book in
the history of the UGA Bookstore, and in 2016, the same year he was drafted by
the Patriots, he was named Children’s Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers
Association. His inspirational story has been featured nationally on CBS
Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA Today, CNN, MSNBC and
the NFL Network and has been used by many schools as encouragement for students
to embrace the importance of reading. His commitment to literacy and book
ownership resulted in him being recognized in 2016 by the Page Turners Make
Great Learners Foundation.
