Health and Fitness teacher Desmond Dunham has been a staple teacher at JR for 11 years. His magnetic energy, wisdom, and badminton games are an integral part of the JR community. However, beyond his role as a teacher lies an impressive array of accomplishments that we have set out to uncover.
Raised in Gary, Indiana, Dunham knew from a young age what hard work and persistence looks like. During Dunham’s upbringing, Gary was a struggling town. The once booming steel industry dried up and Gary became a place ridden with crime. “Sports was my outlet,” Dunham recalled.
Throughout his childhood, Dunham was a multi-sport athlete. While basketball remains Dunham’s favorite sport, running has been the most influential. “I developed a lot of internal fortitude, a lot of grit [because of track/cross country]. It taught me a lot about myself.”
Dunham was repeatedly cut from his elementary and middle school sports teams. This setback only pushed him more though, and his drive to success never wavered. “I think adversity always defines and reveals character. I realized that if you have a positive relationship with failing, you’re going to go a lot farther in life because you’re gonna be willing to take more risks in how you do anything,” he said.
“I ended up having an amazing performance [in high school] and [went] on a scholarship to attend Howard for track and cross country.” At Howard, Dunham became captain, MVP, and the 4×800 meter relay was named for him.
Today, Dunham’s resume remains impressive and extends far beyond JR. Dunham originally was going to be a doctor, as was his mother’s wish – he fulfilled his premed requirements and took the MCAT three times. But, after he spent time teaching, he realized being a doctor wasn’t what he wanted to do.
“[My mom] ended up saying, go wherever your heart is, as long as whatever you do, [you] just be the best that you can be. And once she gave me that permission, I knew that I needed to be a teacher and I wanted to be a coach,” he said.
Dunham is now the author of a book, Running Against the Odds, which details his life journey, and gives motivational speeches. He used to be the head coach for JR track and cross country (2012-2017), and is currently an Under Armour coach, an Under Armour ambassador, and runs Kids Elite Sports (a sports summer camp that has served about 1000 families in the DC area).
However, the latter is definitely involved in JR, as Dunham has hired over 500 counselors (mostly from JR) in the past 10 years. He is always looking for more students to hire and said it teaches leadership, how to work with kids, and looks great on a resume. So, if you want to be a counselor… let him know!
