FHSU University Relations and Marketing<\/p>\n
By Diane Gasper-O’Brien<\/p>\n
HAYS, Kan. — A lot of folks look up to Isaiah Maxi, and it’s not just because he stands 6 feet, 5 inches tall. An outgoing person who stands up for what he believes in, Maxi can talk to just about anyone.<\/p>\n
But this college student has two particular audiences he gravitates to on the Fort Hays State University campus.<\/p>\n
Five mornings a week, bright and early at 7:30, Maxi bends his lanky 190-pound frame into a chair more suited for 3- and 4-year-olds.<\/p>\n
For a couple of hours, the handsome 21-year-old who sported a different hairdo at least six times this season — and who friends simply call Maxi — answers to “Mr. Maxi” to two dozen youngsters. He works as a student worker para professional in Tiger Tots, a child development center on the FHSU campus for 2 1\/2- to 5-year-olds.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, Maxi is just as comfortable injecting his teammates on the Tiger football team with positive maxims.<\/p>\n
“He’s a great leader,” said sophomore Tyler Bacon, one of Maxi’s roommates and also a Tiger football player. “He’s always excited, tries to keep us up.”<\/p>\n
“He’s one of our biggest leaders,” Tiger Head Coach Chris Brown agreed. “He keeps the energy going and always keeps people’s spirits up.”<\/p>\n
Brown, in his fifth year of rebuilding the FHSU football program, has led the Tigers into a post-season game for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n
Fort Hays State, 8-3, will take on the University of Minnesota-Duluth at noon Dec. 5 in the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo.<\/p>\n
Brown has been known to say more than once that he recruits players who are not only good football players but “good, solid people” as well.<\/p>\n
Some lead by example. Others are more vocal leaders. Maxi falls into the latter category. He once called a team meeting of Tiger players when he was a freshman.<\/p>\n
Because of his outward exuberance, Maxi might appear to be a carefree, happy-go-lucky type of guy. But beneath the surface is a thoughtful young man who speaks with a wisdom that belies his 21 years.<\/p>\n
“Oh, his fun and loving personality fits in very well with the young children,” said Sara Stroup, director of Tiger Tots. “He too is a very respectful 21-year-old, way beyond his years. He’s responsible and takes things seriously.”<\/p>\n
Maxi learned responsibility at a young age. His mother died of a heart attack when she was in her mid 30s, leaving his dad to raise four boys in Kansas City, Mo. Maxi, the youngest, was 6 at the time.<\/p>\n
Maxi said his dad kept him involved in sports, which helped instill in him a competitive nature. But along the way, he also learned to always keep a positive outlook, no matter what happened.<\/p>\n
“Everything happens for a reason,” Maxi said. That positive attitude is what brought Maxi to Fort Hays State.<\/p>\n
After helping Kansas City’s Center High School football team to a 10-win season his senior year, Maxi was recruited by several MIAA teams from the same conference as Fort Hays State.<\/p>\n
Maxi is no dummy. He checked out where the Tigers finished in the league standings since joining the MIAA in 2006 — toward the bottom. Rather than shying away from Fort Hays State, though, Maxi was persuaded by Coach Brown’s staff to be part of a rebuilding program. So, too, did his coach, Bryan DeLong, who played for the Tigers in the mid 1990s.<\/p>\n
“I looked up to Coach DeLong a lot, and he said he thought Fort Hays State would be a good fit for me,” Maxi said. “I wanted to be different and not necessarily go to the very best team but go somewhere where I could be part of the change for the good. This is the place I felt I could make the most difference.”<\/p>\n
Maxi’s junior class, along with this year’s senior class, has made a significant difference in the FHSU program. Under Brown’s guidance, the Tigers have gone 6-5, 7-4 and 8-3 the past three years. The last time FHSU football recorded three consecutive winning seasons, this year’s players were either in diapers or not even born.<\/p>\n
Maxi — third on the total yards charts for wide receivers that will be playing for the Tigers in the bowl game — is part of that resurgence, having played in all 33 games of his career thus far. A win in the bowl game would give this year’s team the school record for most wins in a season.<\/p>\n
After the bowl game, Maxi will start preparing for his first-semester finals and continue to spend time helping make a difference in the lives of young people. In addition to his job at Tiger Tots, Maxi also officiates for Hays Recreation Commission youth sports.<\/p>\n
“I want to make a difference,” he said. “People value the difference more than the trend. I want to make the trend.”<\/p>\n
He said one of his most enjoyable jobs is the time spent at Tiger Tots, where the youngsters remind him of a pair of preschoolers near and dear to his heart. Maxi’s dad remarried when Maxi was in high school, and he now is a big brother to a 4-year-old twin brother and sister.<\/p>\n
“You know, they say being a good leader is something you learn,” said Maxi, an organizational leadership major. “But in Tiger Tots, you can see a lot of natural leadership, even at that age. They will ask to help each other, without being told.”<\/p>\n
That’s because they learn what they see, Stroup said, stressing that Maxi is one of the role models for those preschoolers.<\/p>\n
Stroup said she has no doubt Maxi will be successful in life “because he knows how to treat people, and he makes good decisions.”<\/p>\n
“I love winning, and I love football,” Maxi said. “But life isn’t just about football. When I leave here, I want people to say ‘Maxi was a good dude.’ I want to have made a positive change in someone’s life or a positive change in some program.”<\/p>\n
A lot of people on the FHSU campus would tell you he’s 2-0, and that’s a good start to a winning record.<\/p>\n