As a student athlete, Armorion Smith spends half of his day either at school, where he studies criminal justice, or with his Michigan State football team, which is currently four games into the 2024 season.
But that doesn’t even begin to tell half of Smith’s story, which grew a lot more complicated last month.
On August 19, Smith’s mother, Gala Gilliam, died of metastatic breast cancer at just 41 years old. And with no father figure in his life, Smith was forced to become the head of his household at just 21 years old.
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Two weeks ago, on Sept. 11, Smith became the official legal guardian of four of his five younger siblings.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Smith said he “didn’t choose my deck of cards” and that his “cards were given” to him. While his life has changed a lot, he knows he needs to step up for his family.
“It just puts a smile on my face to see them happy,” he said. “I can feel her living through me. Almost like I hear her voice telling me how proud she is of me.”
Smith relies on his 19-year-old sister when he’s not around
Smith says he has found a new appreciation for what his mother went through as a single mother. With so much on his plate now, he has to write notes in his phone just to keep track of his daily responsibilities.
And those notes usually come in bunches.
Before he leaves for school, Smith makes sure his five siblings are awake and ready for the day. He then heads to physical therapy before going to football meetings, classes, and practice for the next 12 hours.
While he’s gone, his 19-year-old sister makes sure their two brothers, Armond and Avaugn, and sister, Arial, get to school safely before caring for the toddler sister, Amaira, until Armorion gets home.
It’s a full-time family effort. “Me and my sister got to work together to keep this all afloat,” he said in his interview. “While I’m in college sports, she’s got to be able to take care of everything that I can’t do, like pick up where I left off, while I’m taking care of business.”
Smith continues to receive support from Michigan State community
As a defensive back at Michigan State, Smith does have some monthly income through various name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, but he also receives a lot of financial support from his community.
For example, Michigan State provides assistance through their student assistance fund, and two former Michigan State football players also set up two separate fundraisers at local restaurants to help out.
“Me and my family are very happy, very appreciative and grateful,” he said. “There’s a lot of love Spartan Nation has shown us these past few months. It’s been a rough time, but to be able to take some of the stress off of my shoulders and show me a lot of love is a blessing and has warmed my heart.”
Not only that, but Smith’s family has received a lot of support through a GoFundMe page, which was created in June. At the time, Smith’s mother was given months to live.
The GoFundMe page has received more than $112,000 through 1,500+ donations over the past three months. The organizer of the fund shared an update on the page on Sept. 23:
Smith also receives help from one of his mother’s close friends, Yolanda Wilson, who told AP that she’ll be there for the family “no matter what.”
“That’s a promise I made to their mother,” she said. “So, it’s going to be a hard transition as it is, but we’re going to be that tight-knit community and have their back.”
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And while Smith and his Michigan State Spartans have a tough week ahead of them as they face No. 3 Ohio State on Sept. 28, he knows he’ll have all the support he needs from his family and community.
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