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Before he walked across the graduation stage Wednesday, Malachi Fields recalled advice his parents gave him before they died.
“Work hard. Treat people nice. Keep God first.”
He saw that, firsthand, at home in Palmdale, California, his mom a sheriff and dad an educator with a doctorate.
Dr. Michael Fields would rise at 5 a.m. to get Malachi and his twin brother, Michael Jr., ready for daycare before school and make it to work on time.
Ingram, wife and mother, had died of breast cancer when they were 8.
Dr. Fields got his diagnosis five years later, in 2017 – pancreatic cancer.
“I wasn’t motivated,” Malachi said of the time after his father died the next year. “I was trying to get over the death of my father, but it took awhile.”
His cousin, Nicole Jackson, helped with the boys and his single uncle, John Fields, moved from Detroit to raise the 13-year-old twins in the years that followed.
Soon, it started to click.
"My brother instilled a work ethic in them that I didn't even see in some soldiers," said Fields, an Army veteran of 14 years.
And high school counselors and teachers inspired Malachi to thoughts of helping others.
“I wanted to work with people who either don’t have father figures or have parents at all, because I’ve experienced that,” he said before graduating with a psychology degree from Grand Canyon University on Wednesday afternoon. “I just wanted to show children if I could get through it, they could as well.”
Malachi was helped by a Levi Conlow Scholarship through GCU’s Fostering Futures, created for students who don’t meet all the state requirements of a program designed for Arizona children transitioning out of foster care.
“It was a new environment, new people, and I was just finding out who I was as a person,” he said of his first days at GCU.
He started to remember that old advice, firsthand.
Treat people nice.
“I started to meet people. I learned that having an open mind can open up a lot of doors – friends, careers, opportunities,” he said.
“I learned that getting out of your comfort zone is hard, but it benefits a lot. It made me more confident just talking to people.”
He joined student clubs and a local church’s men’s group. He became camping buddies with his roommate, never having gone in his life, but finding the “quietness of being in God’s creation with no cell phones” lit his fire.
Work hard.
As a student worker, he was seen all over the Student Advising Services Building, from helping set up campus tours on the first floor, to helping students connect with counselors on the third.
He joined the Air Force ROTC and rose even earlier than his father used to – at 3 a.m. – to catch a ride for training across town.
That determination was evident to Brandi Turner, Fostering Futures student administrator.
She watched from Grove Field as Malachi mounted a donated e-bike. He had never ridden a bike before.
He nervously began to pedal slowly, weaving and wobbling, through one unsure lap around the field, then another, until he zoomed and took off.
“At that moment, I realized the impact that Malachi has had on my life,” she said. “His grit and determination have been a lesson for us all as he has navigated life at GCU.”
He has motivated people within the Fostering Futures program, too, and been motivated by their stories.
“It’s a humbling path, I’d say, just knowing there are people out there who have been through something similar to me, or maybe worse,” Malachi said. “They still had the determination to be in college. So it just reminded me to never underestimate someone.”
Malachi finished his undergraduate degree in just three years and is applying for jobs at GCU and a spot in the Air Force Reserve.
“I took a lot of summer classes,” he said. “My family was very strict on education. I feel like I had to finish early for them but also for me as well.”
His parents would be proud and happy, maybe even a little surprised, he said. His uncle John and twin brother Michael weren't surprised on Wednesday, standing aside Malachi outside the arena.
"I'm proud of him to come here," said Michael Jr., a UC Riverside junior. "We've always been together. He knew what he wanted and stuck to it."
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at mike.kilen@gcu.edu
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