BLACK HISTORY MONTH BC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Mr. Derrick Smith, Jr. '11
How did Benedictine Military School help to shape you?
“BC taught me to be a better man. It prepared me for college. And brotherhood. Graduating from BC helps a lot when it comes to jobs and connections. BC definitely did that for me. Whether it be good times or bad times, BC is a true brotherhood. When you’re wearing the ring and saying, ‘I’m from BC’ it has connections. Regardless of if I’m from the Class of 2011 and I meet someone from a BC Class in the 1980s, we can all relate. I think that’s a huge part of what you get from BC. I was new at the time. I had no idea who anybody was. (MSG) Rey Osorio – I called him ‘Pops’ because I looked up to him – he was really a big deal in my life. (Brennan) Lemieux (’01) was also another figure. (Joe) Tvrdy is probably the smartest man I know. I’m surprised he’s still there. I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re old.’ Tvrdy was a big influence. I’m pretty sure everybody else I know might be gone from there except for Tvrdy. I know Tvrdy (a math teacher) was old when I was there because he taught Mr. Lemieux and I had Lemieux as a (science) teacher.”
Smith, 32, was born in Jacksonville, Fla., to parents Derrick, Sr., and Belinda. He and his sisters, Brianna and Alexis, moved to Pooler, where their parents still reside, in 2009. Smith transferred to BC as a sophomore. He was in JROTC for three years and served as a company commander. He competed in track and field as a sophomore and junior, ran cross country as a senior, and was a swimmer all three years. Smith represented BC at the GHSA Swimming State Championships in the 100 fly and 50 free (placing second in the state), and he attended the University of Kentucky on an athletics (swimming) scholarship. He competed in the Southeastern Conference championships his final two years as a Wildcat and was named to the SEC’s All-Academic team as a senior.
“I swam all four years of college. It was a great experience. At BC, I had just transferred from my school to BC and I remember our class got in trouble. Mr. Lemieux was like, ‘Alright, y’all have got detention.’ I said, ‘Detention? I can’t do detention. I’ve got a swim team meet.’ He was like, ‘You swim?’ And everybody said, ‘Yeah. He’s actually pretty good.’ I said, ‘Mr. Lemieux, I swear I’ll be back. I’ve just got a swim team meet.’ He didn’t believe it all, so he ended up coming down to the meet and seeing me. My coach said, ‘Yeah, Derrick is actually one of the best swimmers on the team.’ And we hit it off from there.”
Lemieux, now BC’s Director of Admissions, was a BC biology teacher at that time. He eventually became the head coach of the Cadets’ swimming team.
Smith, who earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science at the University of Kentucky, went on to earn a master’s degree in biomechanics at Marshall University, where he also taught.
“My biggest goal was (a career in) physical therapy. Went back (to college) to get my master’s because I got to go for free as long as I taught. So I taught while I was going to school. I’m still not using my master’s at all, but I do work for a company called Axogen (https://www.axogeninc.com/) here in (Dayton) Ohio, and what we specialize in is nerve repair and nerve grafts.”
Smith is an operations supervisor at Axogen, where he has worked for nearly two years. He specializes in nerve debridement, a procedure that removes damaged or diseased nerve tissue to prepare the area for nerve regeneration.
“Basically, what we do is we receive tissue from people who have passed on. After that tissue is accepted, we bring it in and debride it and we try to collect as many nerves as possible from that debridement. There are specific nerves in our body that send signals from the brain to the nerve, and then back to the brain. We debride those nerves, and those debrided nerves are used in our process. We go through and clean up the fat, cut as much out as possible. We package it up, put it in the freezer so that it can be shipped out and go to a headquarters so it can be used at either a hospital or whoever needs it (to treat) nerve damage. We’re working with tissue. We’re debriding that tissue. We’re basically cutting through arteries and tissue to get the nerves. We get four containers of tissues from somebody who has passed on. We have a tissue recovery team that goes around and recovers some of the best tissue and sends it to us to debride. We take from the upper-left and upper-right of the body, from the shoulder down to the elbow, and in the lower part of the body from the hip down. That’s where those nerves are at when it comes to tissue.
“I had no idea something like this existed in this world until I did my research and applied for the company I work for now. We have our headquarters in Alachua (Gainesville, Fla.) but in terms of how the process happens, it’s in Dayton. We’re the ones that do the process. We have another (office) in Texas but they’re basically over supplies and tissue. We’re the place that does the process. The analogy that I like to use is imagine you bring in an old-school ’79 Corvette or something like that. You want it restored. That’s what we’re doing with nerves. We’re basically bringing out old nerves and trying to restore them for use in someone’s body so that if you have any type of nerve damage, when the surgeon puts it in it’s like brand new. Patients share their stories about how they used some of the nerves that we debrided and how now they have their life back again. They’re able to enjoy life and be active again versus being in pain and not being able to do much.”
Smith was inducted into the BC Athletics Wall of Honor in 2021.
“My dad came on my behalf because I was in Atlanta at the time. It’s been years since I’ve been back to BC. I do want to go by because I haven’t been since they built the new part of the school (Brown STEM Wing). The football field, the baseball field, everything has changed. The front entrance with the security. Everything is different now. I can’t wait to see BC again."
