Running and writing may seem like an unliely pair, but they allowed Joslyn Dalton to achieve her dreams.
During the first month of her first year at the University of Nebraska, Dalton found herself skipping class.
Instead of sitting in a biology lecture, the student-athlete spent her days at the hospital with her father who was dying of cancer.
Dalton learned of her father’s cancer diagnosis when she was 16 years old.
“The easy breeziness of being a high school kid was just completely stripped from me,” Dalton said while speaking to a journalism class at TCU on Feb. 9.
Dalton said her family’s money and resources went toward her father’s cancer treatment. She knew that if she wanted to attend college, she would have to earn a scholarship.
“I was told we have no money, we have no way for you to get to college. You’re going to have to figure it out,” she said.
Dalton said she participated in a variety of sports during her childhood, but began to train intensely in track after her father was diagnosed with cancer.
Dalton began to be recruited by colleges during her senior year of high school, during which she didn’t lose a single race.
Dalton said she chose to attend the University of Nebraska not only because she had always wanted to run for her home state but also because it was only an hour away from home.
“I needed to be close so that when the call would come that it was time to say goodbye to my father, I could make it.”
Dalton said she and her father had talked about running a marathon together before his death.
That call came on Sept. 1, 2004, just 16 months after her father’s cancer diagnosis.
“I was witnessing my biggest fan, my best friend, and my earthly protector, gasp for his final breath of air,” Dalton said. “On that day, just after moving into my dorm room, my father actually passed away.”
Dalton said that returning to school after her father’s death was an extremely challenging situation. She said she felt alone in the cutthroat world of college athletics.
Dalton said writing classes were a significant part of her healing process.
“It was with my pen and paper that I was really able to write out my struggles,” Dalton said. “Running and writing became what healed me and what kind of started to get me back together.”
Dalton earned her degree in communication from the University of Nebraska and later earned her MBA and master’s in sports business management from the University of Central Florida.
Dalton went on to be a published co-author of the book “150 Heroes: People in Sport Who Make This a Better World” and eventually became ESPN's Operations Manager of Premium Content and Associate Manager of espnW.
Dalton said her success resulted from hard work, persistence, and the guidance of mentors. She said the adversity she experienced in her life has refined and shaped her into who she is today.
“I just passionately pursued my purpose and sometimes my purpose was just simply figuring out myself,” Dalton said.
Dalton founded her own branding company, JMar&Co in 2000 and went on to run in the New York Marathon in 2014 in honor of her father.
Dalton also founded AlwaysSmilin, a lifestyle brand that encourages positivity and happiness with her fiancé, Aaron Ammar.
“We all have different stories,” Dalton said. “Adversity is an opportunity that shines a light on our ability to rise above.”
