By Izzy Wallace

For VJ Malo, continuing to succeed in football would mean taking care of his family, and making them proud.

Malo is a defensive lineman for the Vikings, Portland State University’s (PSU) football team.

While he’s now in the Portland area, Malo was raised in White Center.

And with just a year left at PSU, he has already made a name for himself.

Malo first played for O’Dea High School, located in Seattle, where he helped his team win a state championship. He then went on to become a two-time All-American, and earned a spot in Division 1 at PSU.

Division 1, also called NCAA Division 1, is the highest level of college football athletics. There are three divisions total, and the divisions are all sanctioned by NCAA, the National Collegiate Athletic’s Association.

Accomplishing all this, having come from a small town, was a big feat for Malo.

“Just making it to Division 1, and coming from White Center, it’s hard – you don’t see too many people doing that,” he said.

Football was something that helped keep Malo busy and focused in his early years, he said.

“It kept me out of trouble, you know, growing up in White Center,” Malo said. “I pretty much fell in love with it, I just never wanted to stop.”

Alongside this, football runs in his blood.

“My uncle Jack and my grandpa, they both just love football and played growing up,” Malo said. “So going to those practices, it helped get me into football.”

Today, his family continues to be his main motivation to succeed.

“My mom, I’ve always wanted to make sure that I can get her a nice house one day, and a nice car. … She’s definitely inspired me,” Malo said.

His own small family too, has been another reason to succeed.

My daughter, … she just turned one. She’s another big inspiration, to work harder and continue to be successful,” he said.

Next for Malo, is to hopefully get drafted, and take another step forwards in his football career.

“There’s been a lot of talk about me getting drafted,” he said. “I’m not trying to look at that too much though, I’m just going to take it one step at a time, and keep getting better. If I keep getting better and grinding away, then everything else will just fall into place.”

And through all of this, he hopes to be a positive influence on any kids who are growing up in a smaller town, with big dreams.

“I just want my story, to be a positive story from those same neighborhoods,” Malo said. “For kids to look up to and know that they can do these same things.”

Izzy Wallace is a graduate from Highline College, where she got her AA in Multimedia, and her BAS in Integrated Design. She had previously worked at Highline’s newspaper for several years as Editor-in-Chief. You can send her ideas for news stories, or photos of your dogs, at [email protected].