Philip Watson Jr. ’16 says his experiences at EMU sparked a passion for service—a passion that continues to this day. The Philadelphia native recently returned from the 2024 Summer Paralympics held in Paris, where he helped athletes on the Liberian team perform at their best.
A former track sprinter at EMU, Watson serves as a guide runner for a visually impaired sprinter from Liberia (who couldn’t make the trip to Paris) and helped train an amputee javelin thrower and amputee shot put thrower on the team.
And although neither of the two Liberians competing at this year’s Paralympics, Angie Myers and Jutomu Kollie, medaled in their events, Myers qualified for the shot put finals, which is an impressive achievement for the developing team.
“They did as well as they could with the limited resources and training they had,” said Watson, who advocates for more support of the Paralympic athletes. “Getting to know them and see their hard work pay off was incredibly fulfilling.”
Path to the Paralympics
When he’s not training Paralympians, Watson works as a residential area director at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
Before graduating from EMU with a psychology degree and Cords of Distinction honors in 2016, he interned at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County to satisfy a requirement for his major. That internship led to a staff position at the organization. After graduating, Watson was promoted to unit director and led the club for two years.
“If it hadn’t been for that class requiring community service hours, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and get into the mindset of doing what I can do to help others,” he said.
Watson, a U.S. citizen whose parents emigrated from Liberia in the 1980s, initially sought to join the Liberian national track and field team ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. When that dream failed to materialize, he found another. He learned that former EMU track teammate Connor Faint ’18 had been chosen as a guide runner for the U.S. Paralympic team and sprang into action, researching as much as he could about Liberia’s Paralympic team and contacting its organizer. He began working with the team in 2019 to prepare for the Tokyo Paralympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Learn more about Watson’s beginnings with the Liberian Paralympic team in this August 2021 article from EMU News.
Watson hopes to continue guiding and training the athletes for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles. “If they make it to LA, I’ll be there to support them every step of the way,” he said.
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