HAMILTON  — Pat Afriyie '18 underwent many trials and tribulations in each of his four years as a student-athlete at Colgate University. But the three-time Patriot League First-Team defensive lineman and 2016 Conference Player of the Year was only getting started as he signed a contract with the San Diego Chargers just days before walking across the graduation stage at Andy Kerr Field. 

"My life after college started to change even before I graduated from Colgate," Afriyie said. "My life leading up to graduation was just straight football as I navigated signing a training camp contract with the Chargers. I was trying to make sure I was in the best shape possible and put myself in the best position to make the team." 

Once he made it out to San Diego, the Associated Press FCS All-American was in for a battle as he competed alongside some of the world's best athletes. 

A star-studded Chargers roster featured future Hall of Fame players in Phillip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Joey Bosa, whom Afriyie competed with daily on the defensive line. 

"I knew I was a good football player leaving Colgate but it was different seeing the type of things these guys can do and the type of work that they put in," Afriyie said. "My time with the Chargers really taught me how to believe in myself, and it made me understand what it takes to be truly great at something. I learned a lot as a football player but also as a person."

Afriyie spent the entirety of the 2018-19 NFL season on the Chargers' practice squad where he continued to confront the challenges that came with being a professional athlete. 

"I never had to deal with stress comparable to that ever in my life," Afriyie said. "Performing under stress is something elite athletes are expected to do, but I don't think I could compare anything in my life to the stress I had playing professional football."

Prior to the start of the 2019 training camp, Afriyie was let go from the Chargers' roster. Just a few months later, he became the 11th Raider alumni to sign a contract with a team in the Canadian Football League as he intended to suit up for the Ottawa Redblacks during the 2020 season. 

A worldwide pandemic knocked his plans of course, however, forcing Afriyie to confront another personal battle in the face of COVID-19.  

"I was going to play for Ottawa that season but then COVID happened and everything changed," Afriyie said. "After the league suspended the season they eventually canceled it in August and then I was out of a job. I had to do a lot of soul-searching." 

"Throughout that summer, I kept thinking about what would happen if I couldn't play football anymore," Afriyie continued. "It's like time was frozen during COVID and I saw that as a great opportunity to make a career change. I decided to go to law school because I figured there was a lot I could do with that." 

Enrolling in Temple University's Beasley School of Law, Afriyie embarked on a new journey equipped with the wisdom he picked up from a tumultuous three years since graduating from Colgate. 

"I was ready to undertake the pressures of law school because I knew what I was capable of having gone through the process of playing in the NFL," Afriyie said. "So much had already been thrown at me mentally while trying to make an NFL roster so I felt like I was very well prepared." 

Earlier this May, six years after leaving Hamilton, Afriyie's hard work paid off as he strutted across another graduation stage, this time with a Doctorate of Law in hand. 

"I don't think I would be in the same place I am now had I gone somewhere other than Colgate," Afriyie said. "The education at Colgate is premier. I learned a lot about writing and learning which are both extremely important as a lawyer. The Colgate education teaches you the tools you need to be successful and know how to adapt to any situations you find yourself in." 

Overcoming the trials of collegiate athletics, the rigors of the NFL, and the uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Afriyie's story is one of continuous growth and transformation. 

He has spent the last year and a half working for the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise, and he will continue to give back in his career as a lawyer. As one of Colgate Football's finest, Afriyie proves that greatness is not confined to the gridiron, but is something that can be achieved in every facet of life.