Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Isaiah Bruce perseveres through tough times
That was all before COVID-19 forced him to go back to work and support his family. His response is a lesson in perseverance.
There are stories of perseverance, and then there’s Isaiah Bruce’s story. A running back at West Chester, Bruce takes the virtues of persistence and determination to a whole other level.
When the coronavirus pandemic wiped out his family’s ability to make ends meet, Bruce stepped in and stepped up. And in addition to putting in 60-plus hour work weeks, Bruce also tackled a full-load of online college classes last spring, and still wound up earning his best semester grades yet.
“That’s the kind of situation that most people don’t know about,” said WCU head coach Bill Zwaan. “When kids go home, they aren’t necessarily going home to a great atmosphere. Isaiah just dealt with it.”
Originally from the hardscrabble streets of North Philly, Bruce moved to Upper Darby while he was in middle school along with his older brothers, his maternal grandparents, and his single mom, Alicia Lotary.
His mom works at the Center for Professional Education, based in Broomall, which provides career and technical education teacher certification services. But when the COVID-19 outbreak hit, Lotary was laid off. And right around the same time in mid-March, Bruce’s brothers Alex and Tichon lost their jobs in the restaurant industry. “Suddenly, they had no income coming in,” Zwaan said. At home for spring break at the time, Bruce contacted his summer job employer to see if he could go back to work a couple months early. “With me being home from school, I kind of had to step up,” Bruce said. “At first I was a little worried, but I always knew that I could work. My mom and I had a conversation and I knew what I had to do to help out.”
Bruce began working soon thereafter as a landscaper with Codina Outdoors, just like he’d done the previous four summers. It’s a physically draining job and it was commonplace for Bruce to put in 12-hour days, six days a week.
“We start at 6-6:30 in the morning and I don’t get home until 6:30 or 7 some nights,” Bruce said. “After work, I am ready to take a shower and then take it down, and get ready for the next day.” “I will be the first person in my family to actually have a college degree. That right there helps motivate me.” — West Chester University running back Isaiah Bruce
But with classes at West Chester set to resume online March 30th, Bruce had a dilemma. Was there going to be enough hours in a day to keep working and continue taking classes that he started in January?
“I was nervous,” Zwaan admitted. “We had talked with Isaiah about dropping out for the semester.”
After consulting with Zwaan and his position coach, Osagie Osunde, Bruce decided to take it on. All involved were concerned because many students who leave college wind up never returning.
“At first going into it, I worried that I was biting off more than I could chew,” Bruce said. “But my support system just stayed on top of me. They checked in with me a lot to just see how I was doing and see if I needed any assistance or anything.”
Majoring in professional studies with minors in nutrition and health sciences, Bruce quickly discovered that online classes weren’t really an easier — or less time consuming — than inperson instruction.
“At first it was hard to keep up,” he acknowledged. “After work, whatever assignments I had to do, I had to jump on them and try to knock them out.
“It was mentally taxing because those were long days. I was online until 1 or 2 in the morning and I’d have to be right back to work.”
With help from his coaches, Bruce’s difficult situation was relayed to his professors, and a plan of action was instituted.
“It was a concern, but I also have a good support system,” he said. “I stayed in constant communication with my coaches and my professors, who were willing to work with me. They knew that I was working all day.”
Following two-plus months of craziness, Bruce wound up with a 3.9 grade point average for the semester.
“It’s a tremendous story,” Zwaan said.
“My mom saw my grades and she started crying,” Bruce added. “It was my best semester yet. It was kind of ironic considering how challenging it was.”
Don’t forget, it was a challenge few would even attempt, and fewer still would thrive in, but Bruce is on a mission to graduate.
“I will be the first person in my family to actually have a college degree.
That right there helps motivate me,” he said.
In addition, Bruce has plenty of previous experience dealing with, and overcoming, hardships. For instance, in 2016, another older brother – Christopher — died, and then not long after he lost his grandfather.
“My mom is a single parent, so I didn’t have my dad much in my life. So my grandfather was kind of like my dad,” Bruce explained.
“Growing up, I’ve dealt with rough times. So I’ve always been able to find a way to persevere. I’ve lost a few close friends too. I’ve tried to take the rough times as they come and do my best to get through it as best as I can. And if the outcome isn’t good, then I try to work harder to make it a good outcome.”
On very few watch lists heading into his senior high school season, Bruce responded by setting the Delaware County singleseason record for rushing yards (2,450) and touchdowns (37), and helped lead the Royals to a 10-3 record in 2015.
At WCU, he was redshirted in 2016 and was then forced to take a medical redshirt in 2017 after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the final scrimmage of summer camp.
“It was pretty tough to take since I had been away from football since my senior year in high school,” Bruce recalled.
He didn’t see the field until the 2019 season when he shared time at tailback with freshman Ja’Den McKenzie and junior Phil Poquie. The 5-foot-7, 190-pound Bruce finished the campaign with 40 carries for 190 yards and two TDs.
“I’m trying to contribute in any way that I can,” he said. “Whatever can help the team, I am going to do that.”
A couple weeks ago, Bruce’s mom went back to work, but his brothers are still looking. The 2020 season was a casualty to the pandemic and plans are being made to play football next spring. Bruce has two seasons of eligibility remaining, and he is already enrolled for online classes once again this fall.
“My plan is to get my degree in December and then go back as a graduate student,” he said.
When asked what would have happened to his family if he hadn’t been able to step in and become the sole breadwinner, Bruce said: “I honestly don’t know.
“It’s something I try not to think about it.”