Jemele Hill, 44, was the self-described “neighborhood tomboy” growing up around Seven Mile.
From those sports-loving origins, she was a softball standout at Detroit Mumford.
A love of newspaper sports sections was another constant throughout her youth.
After a high school journalism program and participation in a Detroit Free Press-sponsored summer program, she decided on a career path.
She would fulfill her dream of becoming a sports journalist, working for several newspapers, which includes a stint covering Michigan State athletics for the Free Press.
From there, she became one of the few female sports columnists in the when she accepted a job with the Orlando (Fla.