Markeith Price is a man of many passions, dreams and accomplishments. At 35, Price is President and Founder of the IC You Foundation, a business entrepreneur, motivational speaker, musician, social media content creator, trainer and most notably, a 2-time U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Athlete and competitor in multiple World Championships.
Born with optic nerve atrophy, a degenerative condition of the nerve fibers that conduct visual information from the retina of the eye to the brain, Price is visually impaired/blind. With no vision in his left eye and profoundly impaired vision in the right eye, Price can make out larger shapes, like a house or a tree, when they are four or five feet away — even close up though, color and detail are limited.
With such an accomplished résumé and having already previously earned a master’s degree in Information Systems, what drove Price to want to return to school and achieve a second master’s degree in nutrition at JWU Online?
Choosing JWU Online
“I’ve always wanted to study nutrition,” explains Price. “I was inspired by my grandfather, who became vegan when I was 10 or 11. Good nutrition could have prolonged the life of people I care about, who passed away too soon. As a competitive athlete, it has been important to eat a healthy diet to optimize my performance.”
Price promised himself that if he ever had the opportunity, he would earn a degree in nutrition. When Price qualified for financial support from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and Guild Education partnership, it felt like an answer to his prayers.
JWU Online sparked something in Price.
“I could have chosen any number of school programs, but I knew about Johnson & Wales University’s history and reputation for innovative culinary arts education. I could feel from the website content the passion JWU Online has for delivering the programs students want. So, I folded my hands in prayer and then made my decision to enroll at JWU Online.
“Everyone — from staff to professors — is supportive and accommodating. The admissions rep, Krystel Acosta, was phenomenal and my financial planner was also helpful. Tech support was extremely patient in helping me set up for online classes. I appreciate how wonderful the Accessibility and Disability department has been to work with.”
The Master of Science in Nutrition program is a good match for Price.
Offered through JWU’s College of Health & Wellness, the online Master’s in Nutrition program prepares students to build evidence-based practices in athletics, food service, community agencies and wellness settings. Price plans to complement his experience as an elite athlete with his education in nutritional science.
“My first course in the program, Nutrition and Public Health, was awesome. The class reinforced how I can become a health and wellness advisor for the community, as well as for the athletes I serve.
“I completed a research project focused on how to help visually impaired and blind athletes have better nutrition. I developed a program that aligned with the mission of an organization I’ve given scholarships to through my foundation, USABA (United States Association of Blind Athletes). I haven’t yet presented the project to them — it is a school project. But I’m excited about bringing together nutrition facts and health information that I’ve learned.
“My goal is to bring the whole package of health and wellness education to all athletes — non-disabled and those who have visual impairments or other disabilities.”
Facing Challenges
Price asserts, “My number one divine purpose in life is to motivate, inspire and help other people develop a resilient mindset. This purpose was revealed to me by facing my challenges.
“Growing up, I was the only blind or visually impaired kid in the schools I attended. When my parents consulted the school for the blind in my state, they explained to my parents that I was already beyond what they could teach me. I had been able to keep up, so they believed I was better off going to school with non-disabled kids.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) had just been passed. Most schools didn’t have the resources and the technology to support kids who were blind or had low vision. Teachers didn’t know how to educate kids like me — they agreed that I was smart but then would say they didn’t know how to help me learn.”
‘Keeping up’ in school didn’t mean that Price learned the same way as other kids.
“I could recite the ABCs when I was three or four. At the private elementary school I attended, the ABCs were printed at the top of the wall. Other kids would look up at them, but I couldn’t see anything. One day, I went back into the classroom while no one was there. I stood on top of a desk to get a closer look but still couldn’t see what my classmates saw. I wondered why I was different.”
Price felt ‘different’ throughout his early school years. Carrying multiple volumes of large print books to equal the one book that other kids carried, using magnifiers to try to read the texts, and even carrying a CCTV around for a few weeks until a permanent place was found, set him apart.
“All of the extra work to learn sometimes frustrated me. Certain teachers helped me navigate those early school years. The support of one vocational rehabilitation teacher, Miss Starner, was impactful. She followed me from the fourth grade through my senior year in high school, and taught me skills, including how to read braille. “Still, I had to work hard to build my self-esteem. Now as an adult, I’ve learned to believe I’m the coolest person ever – and that if you don’t think I’m cool, I don’t care. But that’s taken a lot of time.”
Athletics
Low vision didn’t stop Price from pursuing sports — by age 10, he was running track at Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore and continued running in college at Tennessee State.
“Sports boosted my self-confidence in a big way. I thank my dad, who never told me there were things I couldn’t do. He advocated for me to the baseball and soccer coaches, ‘My son is visually impaired but he’s able to keep up with the other kids.’ Often, I surprised everyone by being number one or two on a team, whether of disabled or non-disabled players — my dad made sure I engaged in sports with both.”
“Running is a passion that has taken me around the world.”
Although he missed making the Paralympics team in 2008, he continued training and competed in 2011 at the World Championships in New Zealand and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara. Earning a spot in 2012 on the Paralympics team, Prive competed in London and then in 2016 at the Paralympic Games Rio de Janeiro.
Advocacy is a mighty tool to make change
Price is an ardent advocate of assistive technology and better accommodations. “Fortunately, technology has evolved to make education more accessible. When, at 20 years old, I got a smartphone, it took things to the next level for me by making things more accessible.”
Price appreciates that JWU Online is ‘tech savvy.’
“JWU Online is up to date with the tools I need to successfully navigate education online. I like that all the news and resources are in one place on the jwuLink web portal. The ulearn (blackboard) learning platform is not too complicated to learn and use. I have a screen reader on my Mac laptop, so I can zoom in to see my course material and get my work done.”
“Life with low or no vision is challenging, whether attending school, finding employment or managing your own business. Accommodations go beyond technology to include protection from discrimination on the basis of disability. That word can be polarizing because life isn’t always accommodating. But we are here to provide accommodations for each other, so that opportunities to succeed are accessible for all.”
Putting nutrition into the package
Price’s goal is to put together a set of tiered packages, incorporating nutrition with what he has learned as an elite athlete. “Whether working with high school or college athletes or professional athletes, good nutrition is essential to an athlete.
“A top-tier training package would give someone an experience similar to a day in the life of an athlete. Someone paying for a basic model may just want to get in shape. Understanding how to structure a workout or what foods to eat are important at any tier.”
This year, Price will serve as a rep for the Paralympic athletes at Nationals. “I’ll help with logistics and the team members, while training to compete in the 2028 Paralympics. Information I’ve gathered from research during my Paralympic and athletic career, together with what I am learning about nutrition, will make me better able to help others — and help myself.”
Bringing nutrition into the classroom as a champion athlete mentor
Sports is a mindset that has helped Price deal with challenges in life.
“Athletics has given me a mission to contribute to public health — to bring knowledge to the community. Public health is dynamic because it involves mental health, sleep, exercise and also nutrition.”
Since 2016, Price has volunteered as an athlete mentor for Classroom Champions, an education nonprofit that connects world-class athletes with students. Meeting at times with a whole school, he’s seen upwards of 10,000 students. “We mentor students virtually throughout their school year,” Price explains. “Each month we talk about a different topic, for example, setting goals, perseverance, health eating — and then follow up with a monthly check-in.”
Go for your goals
“My whole life has been challenging — but all that I have learned through meeting those challenges is something I can share with others. The secret to achieving big goals is to think of it like climbing to the top of a mountain. In the beginning, the goal seems impossibly far away but keep climbing — as you climb the goal gets closer. Before you know it, you have reached your goal.
“While you’re learning at school or working, stay positive. When things get tough, don’t give up. Remind yourself, ‘you’ve got this.’ Keep walking on that journey. Whatever goal you have — the destiny or divine purpose you are serving — your destination is right around the corner.”
Interested in a Master of Science in Nutrition degree?
Elevate your career in athletic training and coaching, health and wellness education, food service or as a community public health professional with an online Master of Science in Nutrition degree from Johnson & Wales Online. For more information, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].
