TAMPA, Fla. _ In more than a quarter-century of serving breakfasts and lunches to pubescents, Virginia Lowell has seen the highs and hardscrabble of Sligh Middle Magnet School.
On this mild mid-February afternoon, when coronavirus has yet to infiltrate the global vernacular, she gazes from the parking lot at a small valley that's now a proverbial peak: A synthetic-turf football field, the kind commonly seen at private academies or public schools in swank neighborhoods, occupies what appears to have once been a retention area.
She knows who is responsible for transforming that crevice into a crown jewel: same strapping dude who raised funds and donations for the renovated landscaping, art studio, sprawling weight room and pressure-washed walls.
Thad Bullard, better known these days as World Wrestling Entertainment "superstar" Titus O'Neil, is the best friend Sligh has ever had, Lowell insists.
"I have seen this school go from nothing to something," she says. "He is doing so much. I mean, we're blessed."
When not on the road four to five days a week performing as his brawny, brash alter ego, Bullard, a 42-year-old dad of two, often can be found at his adoptive school, nestled in a low-income area in the city's solar plexus.
His dream, borne from his own inner-city rearing during a mostly impoverished childhood, is to create a school that serves the whole community, not just its kids; a scholastic and social hub that educates and enriches.
Sligh Middle Magnet, a Title I school at which more than 96% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, is that school.
"I want this to be, like, a haven for this neighborhood," Bullard said.
"I feel like gentrification is coming down this way, if you look at Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights. These families over here, a lot of them have been here for years, and I want to develop a culture of health and wellness and pride.
"So you see all the transformation going on, where's the best place to start any transformation? Education."
