Arik Armstead: I could have been lost potential. I won’t let that happen for other kids.

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• Arik Armstead, defensive lineman for the Jacksonville Jaguars, won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his work with his foundation, the Armstead Academic Project.
• The Armstead Academic Project focuses on providing educational resources to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Armstead stressed the importance of literacy and addressing factors outside of school that can impact a child’s education, such as poverty and mental health.

This year, I had the honor of receiving the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for work in my community. I’m truly humbled, because when I look at my life on and off the football field, I can’t help but think how it could have gone much differently.

Had I not had the support system in place to get me through those tough years of school, I could have been just another kid lost in the shuffle. I could have been lost potential.

I struggled in school, like so many other children do. Reading was especially hard for me, and early on I quickly fell behind my classmates.

I loved sports, and so many professional athletes will tell a similar story of sports getting them through school. But for me, it was a combination of getting to play football and basketball, and my parents and teachers adapting my education.

My mom was a fierce advocate for me, adamant that I wouldn’t be labeled in the classroom as having learning disabilities when really, I just needed to learn a different way. My dad ensured I could learn in a unique, homeschooling program to catch up where my education was lacking so that I could play the sports that were driving my real passion.

Teachers along the way also worked with my parents and learning needs to not just get me across the finish line, but get me to early high school graduation and the University of Oregon to play football.

They say it takes a village, and I know that’s true. I had resources and opportunities to ensure that I wasn’t put in a box of struggling to learn but was free to find new ways that fit my learning style.

My mission now is to be that village, for my own children, for those back home in Sacramento and the Bay Area, and for those in my adopted home of Jacksonville.

Every child, regardless of socioeconomic status, background or address should have access to education and opportunities that fit their unique needs. My wife and I used our combined backgrounds to identify several unique areas where we can invest and take a more holistic approach to education and preparation for the future.

Literacy is the key to unlocking potential in the future. I know from my own personal experience that struggling to read was what set me back everywhere else. Providing avenues for students to not just learn reading skills, but encouraging them to love reading, is essential in the education work my foundation does.

But so is fostering a safe environment for working with outside factors that impact education. So many children struggle outside the classroom with poverty, hunger, trauma and a lack of stability that makes focusing on learning and just being a kid the least of their worries.

We in the education space can’t simply focus on the manifestation of struggling in school without addressing the larger issues of life outside the classroom.

A holistic approach to providing better education avenues includes partnering with families to improve children’s mental health, access to care, eyeglasses, access to a library and any other facet that is going to ensure kids can focus on learning and the future.

The future looks different for all students. For some, college is the right path, so we want to encourage those bound for higher learning and give them all the preparation they need to succeed. But for others, a traditional four or more years of higher education isn’t the right path.

It’s time for the lingering stigma of skipping the college route to go out the door. A better approach is giving children the resources and knowledge they need to find what sparks their passion. My organization does this by hosting career camps and partnering with corporations to give students a firsthand look at what is available in the career world.

Letters: My family came to the U.S. over a century ago. Don’t freeze refugee assistance programs.

The more opportunities kids can see with their own eyes, the better they can shape their own futures.

Receiving the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is a true honor I will cherish the rest of my life. The league and my teammates and peers seeing and elevating the work my wife and I do in the community to make it better means so much to me.

I’m so grateful I get to use this platform to amplify my voice and my work to ensure a child’s success is not dictated by ZIP code. Kids getting the opportunity to learn and pursue a brighter future is all the award I need.

Arik Armstead is a defensive lineman for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He and his wife, Dr. Melinda Armstead, founded the Armstead Academic Project, which is focused on every student, regardless of socioeconomic status, having access to the education resources they need to thrive.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.