Humans of NGU: Josiah Howard
Autumn Lowry, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Josiah Howard
Josiah Howard is a sophomore sport management major at North Greenville University. Howard moved to Turkey when he was 6 months old with his family. He moved back to the states in July right before his freshman year to attend NGU.
Even though he lived in Turkey since he was young, America isn’t a foreign place to him. His family lived in the states for a year when he was in fourth grade while his dad was getting his Ph.D. Because of that, he made friends in the states. After they moved back to Turkey, every two years his family would come back in the summers, and he would get to hang out with his friends and be involved in American culture.
One summer while back in the states when he was 14, he visited NGU and really liked it. Howard’s biggest passion is football. When applying to NGU, he submitted a film of him playing. He impressed the coaches so much that he was able to walk on to the team.
He said being a part of NGU’s football team is such a blessing. While living in Turkey, he was able to play for a league called U19, meaning if you’re under 19 you can play. In Turkey, they have pro and university level teams.
The way it had been set up is, in the 90s, the Navy would dock in Izmir, Turkey, they would teach the college students how to play football so that they could play backyard pick-up games. From there, the university started clubs where they could play American football.
Howard played for a university team at Yeditepe University; he was young but high school level football hadn’t been introduced yet.
Howard found that the biggest difference between American and Turkish football is atmosphere. A typical game in Turkey only has 30 to 40 people in the crowd. In America, fans buy season tickets to their favorite teams and get dressed up in eccentric costumes and go to tailgate parties.
On the other hand, Howard doesn’t get as hyped for game day as his peers. It’s more of a hobby and genuine love for the sport in Turkey. In the United States, he explains it is all about, “being the guy who wins all the time.”
Howard always planned to move back to the states.
Howard said, “My main goal was to always come back to the states. I wanted to come back to get an education … I am an American, but I’ve never been there. If I don’t go back for college, can I still really say that I am an American?”
After Howard graduates, he might stay in Tigerville to get his masters in Christian studies. His main goal is to use his sport management degree and to take his experience from North Greenville to move back overseas to pursue a professional career in football while preaching the gospel at the same time.
