Most people in Bakersfield know Vernon Strong III as a hero. He’s the safety from Bakersfield High School, destined to advance to the next level, only to have those dreams shattered and knocked into a 43-day coma by a career-ending car accident.

But he’s more than that, and now Strong is focused on something more than his athletic aspirations.

“Sports are behind me,” he said. “I want to get in touch with my mind.”

Strong is 37 units into his AA, nearly seven years after the evening that ended his football career.

“[The hardest thing] was just getting the mindset back that I could actually [succeed],” he said. “The doctors said that I was going to be [paralyzed] the rest of my life. Doctors were saying I was going to be worthless the rest of my life.”

Ten words into a conversation, though, it’s evident that Strong is bright and that he’s already proven those doctors wrong.

Eventually he gets out what he wants to say, which is usually deep and meaningful, but every phrase and sentence is a struggle.

Strong’s phone is full of countless to-dos, a sign of his struggle with remembering the littlest things.

“I have to write everything down.”

To Strong, his life is divided into two separate periods: before and after the accident.

The charming kid that could make you laugh on a dime is still there, but Strong admits that he needs a lot more help nowadays, and he is getting that help at Bakersfield College.

“I was sharp, but I didn’t have any knowledge behind it,” Strong said of himself before the accident. “Now, I’ve got knowledge to back it up.”

Strong has ambitions far beyond the gridiron. He plans on being a civil engineer when it’s all said and done.

“I still want to make an impact,” he says.

“My goal is to come out [of BC] with a 3.5 GPA. I’ve been smart in the past. I’ve done great things in the past, but I just want to do my best and see what I can do.”

Strong comes from a family of athletes. At times, knowing that he likely wouldn’t be able to follow that tradition was too much.

“Sometimes I would sit at home and just cry because I knew it was going to be that much harder,” Strong said. “There were times when I felt alone … I just felt like there was no one in the world that could help me.”

Despite not ending up where he thought he would seven years ago, Strong is certain that he is where he was meant to be all along.

“Things may be going great, but God wants you in a different direction,” he said. “I played sports, I was good at sports, but now I have a chance to do something bigger.

“Now I am focused on growing my mind.”