Darius Fleming ’12 was a star at Chicago’s St. Rita High School when he relied on a community organization, the Beyond Sports Foundation, to help prepare him for the challenge of becoming a Notre Dame student-athlete.

He became a four-year starter at linebacker, finishing with 157 tackles, including 32 for loss, 14 1/2 sacks, two interceptions, and nine pass deflections. In the NFL, he was part of a special-teams unit for the 2014 New England Patriots in their march to winning the Super Bowl. After football, Darius returned to Chicago and volunteered for the Beyond Sports Foundation. 

“I saw how much it benefited me and supported me along the way and thought it would be right to show support for the same great organization,” Darius says. “I feel there are a lot of kids who, like me, are talented but do not have the resources when it comes to academics.”

“Darius has always been a person who gave his best in everything that he did,” said Todd Kuska, St. Rita athletic director and head football coach. “He was a competitor on the field and in the classroom. He was always there for others, whether it was helping another player with a scheme or drill or talking with his teammates about any problems that they had.”

And football wasn’t the only sport in which he excelled. Darius won the Tony Lawless Award as the best bowler in the Chicago Catholic League.

Today, Darius works as Head of Sports Partnerships for Cameo.com, the Chicago-based video sharing website.