Dedrick Parson has run for 1,420 yards during his 25-game University of Hawaii football career, but the best moment was walking 20 yards on Saturday night.
Accompanied by his sister and mother, Parson went from the group hug of teammates to accept his senior plaque.
“It meant everything to have my family out here — my mom, my sister,” said Parson, who scored his 12th touchdown of the season in the 31-25 victory over UNLV at the Ching Complex. “It meant everything to spend time with them. I wanted to show for them, make my mom and sister proud, and give them something to talk about for years to come. The touchdown was for my mom. It made her so proud and happy.”
Lauronda Fletcher and her daughter, Zakiya Parson, made the 4,908-mile trip from West Philadelphia to attend the Rainbow Warriors’ senior night. But Dedrick Parson said that, in his heart, they have always been near.
They were there when Parson suffered ligament tears in his right knee as an Imhotep Charter High senior in 2016. And they supported each other after Parson’s brother was shot and killed while working on his car in January 2017. His brother was studying to be an engineer.
“The gun violence in Philadelphia …, ” said Parson, his voice trailing into a whisper. “You don’t know if somebody is out for you or how you make somebody feel. It’s real bad. It’s like a crabs-in-a-barrel thing in Philadelphia right now, where if somebody feels a certain way about you, they’ll get to you, bring you down. A lot of guys I grew up with are either dead or in jail.”
He said his family tried to shield him from the street violence, supporting his participation in sports and interest in academics. In high school, Parson was in an engineering program. But with his injury, the scholarship offers evaporated. He eventually was invited to join Howard University as a walk-on.
“Of course, I wanted to be there for my family,” he said of his decision to attend college in Washington, D.C. “But looking at the greater cause, I knew I could help them more if went away and earned a degree.”
He eventually earned a starting job — and scholarship — at Howard. But in recognition of his family’s sacrifices, on bone-chilling Washington nights, Parson slept with the windows open.
“It was a motivation thing,” Parson said. “Be cold. It was a thing to keep pushing and remembering where I came from.”
He recalled growing up in a house that did not have heating. On chilly nights, he said, “we’d sleep with the oven door open just to warm the house up.”
He said his mother was a bursar at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. “She made so many sacrifices when I was growing up,” Parson said. “She’d sacrifice her needs just for us to go to school, and pay for sports and all types of after-school programs.”
He added: “My mom will find anything in that freezer and make us a four-course meal. She made it happen. My sister, too. (Friends) could come over. My mom cooked, and everyone knew they would be able to eat. She made sure everybody got a plate to take home.”
Parson earned a degree in sports medicine and human performance at Howard. In July 2021, he transferred to UH, where he is pursuing a master’s in kinesiology and rehab science. Saturday’s road game against San Jose State will be the last time he plays college football. There is optimism he will play professionally.
“Just making it this far is amazing,” Parson said. “A lot of people don’t make it this far. It’s just a dream come true, really. … With my family, there have been a lot of trials. But there’s going to be some greatness at the end of it.”
