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Delrico Simms

Successful Transition

My mom wanted me to go far away from home so I could better my career, better my life and meet different people.

Delrico Simms has found “the perfect opportunity” in Columbus, Neb., a city with a population of just over 22,000. This from a man who comes from Washington, D.C., a city with a population of nearly 700,000.

If you keep up on ������Ƶ athletics, you’ll recognize Simms as a shooting guard on the men’s basketball team. However, athletics is just part of the perfect opportunity he’s talking about.

Simms first heard about ������Ƶ through his club basketball coach. He contacted the ������Ƶ coaching staff and discovered they were in need of a shooting guard. At the same time, Simms’ mother was anxious for him to leave the projects of Washington, D.C, after high school.

“There’s a lot of trouble in my city,” said Simms. “My mom wanted me to go far away from home so I could better my career, better my life and meet different people.”

What Simms found at the Columbus Campus was several people willing to help him improve academically.

“I came here because of low grades and test scores,” said Simms. “The tutoring and things like that have helped me improve and get better.”

In fact, Simms believes he is getting a better education at ������Ƶ versus the community colleges in the Washington, D.C., area.

“Back at home, I’m thinking there might be some professors who went to a school like us or grew up like we grew up and they won’t put the pressure on us and make it hard for us,” said Simms.

Nearing the end of his first year, Simms is quick to say that ������Ƶ has exceeded his expectations.

“It made me a better as a student. It made me better as a person,” said Simms.

Like many community college athletes, Simms wants to transfer to a four-year institution to continue playing basketball. However, he would also like to move on to a school with a pre-med program so that he can eventually become an orthopedic doctor. Simms chose that career goal after breaking six bones throughout his life.

As for the transition from a large metropolitan city to a small rural community, it’s been a successful one for Simms, who said Columbus has everything he needs.

“All the food places are right there in town, except for one store,” said Simms. “You don’t have Chick-fil-A.”