A script! Current Montreal Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo has some well-kept secrets: He was just a freshman at the University of Nevada when he helped completely change the life of a poor student. All while openly showing him how to throw a football.
• Also read: “I’m proud of my resilience”: Mathieu Betts didn’t give up after a “difficult” start
• Also read: Marc-Antoine Dequoy, the ultimate Canadian player?
• Also read: The Alouettes have no choice when it comes to dressing veterans
“I can’t forget the generosity he showed me when I was a stranger,” testifies Ivon Padilla-Rodriguez, who, on Fajardo’s advice, won a $100,000 scholarship in a professional competition.
Twelve years later, we found the former student, who now teaches in the history department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After her years in Reno, Nevada, she received her doctorate from Columbus University in 2021. Without a doubt, she feels eternal gratitude to the Alouette neighborhood.
Ivon Padilla-Rodriguez Photo provided by Ivon Padilla-Rodriguez
In theater class
So the story goes back to autumn 2011. Fajardo was 19 years old, Padilla-Rodriguez 18. The less fortunate student was accepted for participation in a course organized by the Dr. Pepper Challenge organized competition and was given the chance to win a $100,000 scholarship by hitting as many soccer balls as possible into a target that represented a giant can of soft drink. The problem? She had no idea how to throw the oval ball back then.
Cody Fajardo played for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack from 2011 to 2014. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP
“I’ve never been much of an athlete and I don’t even know if I’ve ever held a soccer ball before,” she said. But then I had to take part in a skills competition and the school quarterback was sitting next to me in my acting class. I just asked him if he could help me.”
“It’s a completely crazy story,” notes Fajardo, fascinated by the fact that this strange episode is brought to mind. I told him that I would spend as much time as necessary showing him how to grip a ball and explaining to him the movement the arm must make to be precise.
“A fun week”
The contest was scheduled to take place at halftime of the Southeastern Conference championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in early December.
“It was a fun week because she had no football knowledge, and maybe it was for the better because there was no need to correct bad habits,” Fajardo noted with a laugh.
The young Padilla-Rodriguez finally managed to win the competition against a competitor from Alabama. Fajardo’s teachings had borne fruit.
“This competition completely changed my life and Cody was one of those who helped me a lot by sharing his expertise,” said Padilla-Rodriguez.
Helping Immigrant Communities
After studying history for a long time, the woman of Mexican descent taught in Chicago, but also became an activist, conducting research to improve the situation of immigrant communities. She wants to help families similar to the ones she grew up with.
Padilla-Rodriguez was born in California in the 1980s to undocumented parents from the Guadalajara region. After her family fell apart, Padilla-Rodriguez was briefly homeless when she was 16. She was then raised by her mother, who worked as a maid at a hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas. For years there was no sign that she would ever get a doctorate. That was before she met Fajardo and won the $100,000 scholarship.
Admit it would be an excellent film. The script has been written. All we would have to do is find a producer…
If Le Journal thinks it’s Claire Lamarche
Shortly before Alouette’s practice on Wednesday, quarterback Cody Fajardo was intercepted and handed a phone. At the other end is Ivon Padilla-Rodriguez, a University of Nevada graduate who won a $100,000 scholarship 12 years ago after receiving Fajardo’s advice on how to properly throw a football.
“I was afraid that at some point you would steal my job,” Fajardo joked during the telephone interview, which was made possible thanks to the collaboration with Alouettes publicist Francis Dupont.
On December 3, 2011, in Atlanta, Padilla-Rodriguez hit the target 13 times for a distance of five yards in just 30 seconds. Those 30 seconds will have completely changed his life. No wonder she never forgot Fajardo.
“I’ve followed your career a little bit,” Padilla-Rodriguez said, admitting that she’s not much of a living room athlete, however.
Fajardo never thought he would one day speak to this student again, but he was happy to do so through the diary. There was a hint of Claire Lamarche in the air, a nod to the famous presenter who led reunion-themed specials in the 2000s. The idea was to bring together people who are often separated by the vagaries of life.
“A beautiful story”
Of course, the quarterback said he was grateful to have helped change the young girl’s fate in his own way, without wanting to take too much credit.
“It’s a beautiful story, I kind of forgot to recognize Fajardo. To have been part of his life, even if only for a short time, was good because this scholarship certainly had the power to change a part of his life. I vaguely remember that without this $100,000 she would not have had the means to continue her studies.”