Daniel Imatorbhebhe: Serving The Youth and Those In Need
A 15-year-old Daniel Imatorbhebhe tours the campus of his dream school, University of Southern California, as a highly-recruited football prospect out of high school. While touring, star USC wide receivers Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor tell Imatorbhebhe that he could be something special, motivating him to not only grind for a USC scholarship but also participate in something much more impactful than football.
Imatorbhebhe spoke about meeting Lee and Agholor as a high schooler: “Just thinking about how that touched me that they would take time when they didn’t have to, to speak into my life, and be like ‘I see y’all, I really believe you can do great things.’ I just remember how that hit me… I just always told myself that if I had the opportunity to do that for someone else, I needed to do whatever I could to be myself in that position.”
And he did just that.
Seven years after his high school visit, Imatorbhebhe, who is now a tight end for USC, was awarded USC’s Community Service Award in 2018 for his outstanding work with the community, going above and beyond the expectations set for his service with local youth and those in need.
Entering the 2017 season as a redshirt sophomore, Daniel Imatorbhebhe was apart of the Mackey Award preseason watch list, the highest award of any collegiate level tight end. Unfortunately, Imatorbhebhe suffered a hip injury prior to the start of the season forcing him to miss the first half of the season. He would later suffer an upper leg injury that kept him off the field for the entire 2018 season.
Like many other athletes during their injuries, Imatorbhebhe was disappointed he was unable to play, but unlike the other athletes, he decided to make use of the free time he gained from being hurt.
Remembering what Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor did for him, Imatorbhebhe chose to add community service to his schedule, working with local youth groups at USC.
Imatorbhebhe said, “If my eyes are open to anything about that process, it’s that there is so much need in Los Angeles and the world. One time after we hosted a “Black Panther” screening for some kids from an orphanage, there were extra boxes of food leftover, and we were like, let’s go downtown to skid row and pass out these boxes. We probably passed out food for over an hour.” referring to one of his service experiences.
Imatorbhebhe’s effort and initiative to take matters into his own hands and serve the homeless on Skid Row without being instructed to was one of many factors that went into Imatorbhebhe receiving USC’s Community Service award.
Imatorbhebhe is now a redshirt senior for the Trojans and is pursuing a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship after earning his bachelor’s degree in economics at USC. He still remains optimistic about extending his football career as a professional in the NFL, but he wants to have options outside of football and his multiple degrees will help him out with that.
His choice to pursue social entrepreneurship is based on his career goal of ultimately starting a business that supports those in need through service. He continues to thank God for his injury because it allowed him to find who he truly is outside of football.
A career path in community service will always be special to Imatorbhebhe since he still remembers and cherishes the moment of meeting his idols and strives to become that idol for younger generations.
