Abraham Lincoln statue on Carthage College?s campus.
All Stories

Green Bay Packers legend Donald Driver visited Carthage on Feb. 4, sharing some of the secrets that have fueled his success as an NFL player, an entrepreneur, an author, and a philanthropist.

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame receiver Donald Driver spoke to the Carthage football team Feb. 4 ... Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame receiver Donald Driver spoke to the Carthage football team Feb. 4 in the Campbell Student Union. Brought to campus through the College’s ongoing Spotlight on Sports speaker series, Mr. Driver met with select groups of students in the afternoon before holding a question-and-answer session in the evening.

He spoke to students in the urban education and sports management programs, as well as the Firebirds football team. Mr. Driver urged all of them to embrace failure as a character-builder and to prioritize finding their life’s purpose.

“Your purpose outweighs your skills every day,” he said.

Drafted in the last round, Mr. Driver entered the league in 1999 as a longshot. Not only did he make the Packers’ roster, he excelled for 14 seasons and remains the franchise’s all-time leading receiver.

Since retiring, he has focused on business ventures in fitness and marketing, as well as charitable investments through the Donald Driver Foundation. A TV show he co-hosts, “The Hero Effect” on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), tells stories of people making huge differences in their communities.

Mr. Driver also famously won “Dancing with the Stars” in 2012, an experience that made him comfortable publicly sharing his personal backstory. Raised in poverty with periods of homelessness, he gave up street life to build a family and a career.

Professor Carter Rockhill interviewed Green Bay Packers legend Donald Driver on Feb. 4 at the Ken... Professor Carter Rockhill interviewed Green Bay Packers legend Donald Driver on Feb. 4 at the Kenosha Public Museum as part of the Spotlight on Sports series. “Be willing to risk everything for that dream only you can see,” he told Carthage students.

A first-generation college graduate with a degree in accounting, Mr. Driver credits a couple of high school teachers for refusing to give up on him. While praising the aspiring educators in the Urban Teacher Preparation Program, he reinforced the value of their caring attitude in the classroom.

That resonated with Matt Santos-Bartczyszyn ’24.

“My students did not trust me at first,” Matt explained later. “I built those relationships and nurtured them.”

Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, attendance at the Q&A session was limited. 

Watch a video recording of Donald Driver’s visit