Armel Mukam Ended Up At Notre Dame Because He Bet On Himself
“The reward is in the risk" is a mantra that Woodberry Forest (Va.) High School 2023 defensive end Armel Mukam lives by.
It wasn’t long ago that Mukam was a standout hockey player in Canada with an ordinary understanding of American football. There came a point when his future on the football field offered too much potential to Mukam.
It wasn’t only about his athletic career. It was also about his education, his future, and everything in between. With that in mind, Mukam started doing his research. Eventually he found Woodberry Forest, and everything it could provide.
"I just started looking around at all the options,” Mukam explained. "I found Woodberry after searching schools who do a great job developing student athletes then I found their defensive line coach. I messaged him, got connected and eventually also got in touch with the head coach.
We had a lot of conversation after that, zoom calls, my family and I even did a virtual tour of the school,” he continued. “It just seemed like a great opportunity and fit for my goals.”
It was a well thought out and calculated decision, but at some point, a leap of faith had to happen. The family had made plans to head down to Virginia to help Mukam officially move into his new home.
Things didn't turn out the way they had planned.
“I’m all by myself in Woodberry,” Mukam explained. “It’s a really crazy story. I was supposed to come with my mom to help me move in and get everything set up, but our flight got cancelled.”
“We were flying on Air Canada but the only flight left had only one seat left,” he continued. “So I made the trip by myself and made the transition alone.”
Since making that trip last fall, Mukam has not returned home to Montreal. No, he has had his head down and continued to work towards his goals. That has obviously paid off quite well up until this point.
Mukam has been a standout student for Woodberry Forest since he arrived. While he has put his hockey career behind him, mostly due to the fact that Woodberry does not currently have a hockey program, he has successfully made the transition to football.
With that impact on the field, he has managed to earn 23 reported scholarship offers to date. He was originally committed to Stanford but decided to opt for the Irish after they came calling. Mukam owes it all to his sacrifice. Since he bet on himself, he has been able to push him dreams even further than he once imagined.
“It was definitely pretty hard at first,” Mukam said about the transition. “I knew that this was going to help me. I wasn’t going to be able to stay there and get to all of my goals. I’m so happy that I took that chance. It has really been paying off.”
That hard work has brought Mukam here. He understands the sacrifices, both from himself and his family. With his support system, Mukam created a thorough plan of selecting a prospective school. This included the criteria for what he is looking for.
“Academics and a good football program were the main things I was looking for when choosing a school,” Mukam said. “There were plenty of schools that reached out and I had to politely decline because they didn’t hit all my priorities. Notre Dame did.”
The Notre Dame staff is lucky to have Mukam, and vice versa. The high upside defensive end has a chance to be cultivated and continue to bet on himself when he makes it to Notre Dame next summer.
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