Spire Magazine 2021

Outcomes

THE GRIND NEVER STOPS Alumnus Collin O'Donnell Serving More Than Coffee

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n the early hours of the morning, you can find Collin O’Donnell ’20 in the kitchen of his coffee shop, The Grind, with staff members preparing food and coffee for the day’s patrons. Starting the day early is a normal practice for O’Donnell; from early morning drills in the military, to 5 a.m. football lifting sessions, to now serving lattes and bagels to the Bluefield community as a small business owner. Some may call this “the grind” lifestyle, which defines O’Donnell’s life well. A native of North Tonawanda, N.Y., O’Donnell graduated from high school in 2011. Realizing college wasn’t initially for him at the time, O’Donnell enlisted in the Armed Forces in 2013. While serving as a combat engineer in Kandahar, Afghanistan, O’Donnell developed an infection in his foot. He spent two years at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and underwent seven operations.

While at Walter Reed, O’Donnell was invited to the White House, where former President Barack Obama personally awarded him the Presidential Call to Service Award for his outstanding service to community. Upon finishing rehab, he decided to give higher education a second try and pursue a career in college football. “Something was missing from my life,” shared O’Donnell. “The opportunity to go back and play college football was something I was missing after high school and felt like I couldn’t give up the opportunity.” In 2018, through Athletes of Valor, a program that helps veterans play college sports following their military service, O’Donnell received a call from Bluefield University head football coach, Dewey Lusk. O’Donnell immediately made the seven-and-a-half-hour trip to visit with Lusk and defensive coordinator Dino Kaklis.

“They sat down and the first thing I said was, ‘Coach, I will do anything to play college football,” O’Donnell said. “I’ll bench whatever you want me to bench. I’ll squat whatever you want me to squat. I will play college football however you want me to play, and I’ll do it at any position.’”

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O'Donnell serving in Afghanistan, 2014