Courtesy Bowie State University

Deondre Jolley poses for his freshman year roster photo as a Bowie State Bulldog.

Many WJ students see Deondre Jolley walking around the building during the school day, and some may stop and say a quick hello. However, most don’t know that in addition to keeping the campus secure and helping meet the needs of students, he has also been an aspiring entrepreneur, a star football player and a fashion designer along his journey.

When he attended Damascus High School, Jolley played a wide range of sports such as track, basketball and baseball, but his first love and main sport was football. Growing up he idolized his father, who himself looked up to St. Louis Rams legend Eric Dickerson. Jolley took his talents to Bowie State University, where he played wide receiver for the Bulldogs.

Once he realized that playing in the NFL wouldn’t be in the picture for him, he was able to dial in on one of his other long-time interests: fashion. During those college years, his interest in fashion and entrepreneurial spirit materialized into a clothing brand that drew inspiration from many of the designers that he looked up to at the time. The most prominent of these figures was the late “Off-White” creator and Louis Vuitton curator Virgil Abloh, whose most well-known endeavor in fashion, “Off-White” is a brand centered around breaking off from the rest of the industry and taking creative risks while keeping things simple all at the same time. Jolley’s main aim with his brand was to create a line so that people would be able to feel luxurious, but without the price tag that some pay for designer brands.

When Jolley graduated, his focus turned to entering the career path he always knew he wanted to explore. Even since his younger days his vision was to go into a job in law enforcement, and for him, working as a security guard in schools was a near-perfect intersection of all the things he values.

“I’m a people person… on top of that I always kinda wanted to do law enforcement too, so it was like the best of both worlds mixed in with security so I’m able to keep people safe and also have that [interaction] with people,” Jolley said.

Many at WJ have certainly felt the impact of his presence, helping countless people to feel safer in a climate where it couldn’t be more valuable. He is known around the community for his bright personality and dedication to his work.

“I think it’s very obvious that the students love him, they care about his well being, and they respect him and they want to support him however they can,” Bali Boule said.

Jolley is looking forward to advancing in his security career and serving the MCPS community as long as he can.