EMOTIONAL: Ohio State Senior Jermaine Mathews Jr. Remembers Receiving Books From Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library As A Child

Long before Jermaine Mathews Jr. became one of the recognizable names associated with Ohio State football, before the bright lights of Ohio Stadium, the roar of more than 100,000 fans, and the expectations that come with wearing the Scarlet and Gray, there was something much simpler that could brighten his day. It was the arrival of a book in the mail. For a young child, the appearance of a new story waiting at home carried a kind of excitement that is difficult to describe. Each book represented a new world, a new adventure, and another opportunity to imagine something beyond the walls of everyday life.

Now, as Mathews looks back on his childhood, one particular memory has taken on an even deeper meaning. The books he received were part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the remarkable literacy initiative created by country music legend Dolly Parton. At the time, he was simply a child receiving colorful books in the mail. He could not have known that the program behind those stories was part of a much larger mission that had touched the lives of millions of children and families around the world.

For Mathews, the memory is more than just a nostalgic reminder of childhood. It represents the unexpected ways that small moments can stay with a person for years. A package arriving in the mailbox may have seemed ordinary to someone else, but to a child, it could feel like a gift personally delivered to inspire curiosity. Opening a book meant opening a door. The characters, illustrations, and stories offered opportunities to learn, dream, and see possibilities that extended far beyond what was immediately in front of him.

That is the power behind Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program was built around a simple but meaningful idea: give children access to books and encourage a love for reading from an early age. What began as an effort inspired by Parton’s desire to help children in her home community grew into one of the most recognizable literacy initiatives in the world. For countless children, including Mathews, those books became a regular part of early life.

Years later, the young boy who once waited for books in the mail is now a senior at Ohio State, representing one of the most prominent programs in college football. The journey from childhood storybooks to college football is not necessarily a straight line, but that is what makes the memory so meaningful. Success is often shaped by countless influences, many of which do not seem significant at the time. A teacher’s encouragement, a parent’s sacrifice, a coach’s advice, a supportive friend, or even a book arriving unexpectedly in the mail can become part of the foundation on which a young person builds a future.

Mathews’ story also highlights something important about childhood. Young people are constantly absorbing the world around them. The experiences that adults may consider small can leave lasting impressions. Receiving a book can create excitement. Reading can develop curiosity. Curiosity can lead to confidence. Confidence can encourage a child to believe that there are possibilities waiting beyond the life they currently know.

There is also something uniquely emotional about Mathews remembering this part of his life now. College athletes are often seen through the narrow lens of competition. Fans know their statistics, their position, their biggest plays, and the games in which they made an impact. But behind every athlete is a much larger story. Before they became players, they were children. Before they learned complicated playbooks and competed on national stages, they had birthdays, family memories, favorite stories, school experiences, and ordinary moments that helped shape who they would become.

For Mathews, receiving books through the Imagination Library is one of those moments. It is a reminder that the person standing on the football field today did not simply appear when he arrived at Ohio State. His journey began years earlier, surrounded by experiences that helped form his personality, imagination, and perspective. The books that once arrived in his mailbox may have been intended to encourage literacy, but their meaning has now become part of a much bigger personal story.

Dolly Parton’s legacy makes that memory even more powerful. Parton is known globally for her music and entertainment career, but her impact through literacy has created another dimension to her legacy. The idea that a child could receive books without having to understand the enormous effort behind the program is part of what makes the initiative so special. The child simply receives a book. Years later, however, that child may look back and understand that someone they had never met had invested in creating opportunities for young readers everywhere.

For Mathews, that realization adds a new layer of appreciation to something that once felt completely normal. The books were simply there. They arrived, they were opened, and they became part of childhood. But with time comes perspective. What felt ordinary can later reveal itself as extraordinary.

It also serves as a reminder of how generosity can travel far beyond the person who gives it. Dolly Parton may never have imagined the individual paths that every child in the program would eventually take. Some would become teachers, artists, doctors, entrepreneurs, parents, or athletes. Each child would carry their own experiences forward. Yet every book represented the same possibility: that a story placed in the hands of a child could make a difference.

Today, Mathews stands at a completely different stage of life. He has grown from the child receiving books into a young man navigating the challenges and opportunities of college football. He is part of a program with enormous expectations and a fan base that watches every season with passion. His life now includes competition, preparation, responsibility, and the pressure that comes with performing at one of the highest levels of college athletics.

But memories like this have a way of bringing everything back to where it started.

Behind the helmet is still the child who once found joy in a book arriving in the mail. Behind the athlete is a young man whose life, like everyone else’s, has been shaped by moments both large and small. And perhaps that is what makes this story so emotional. It connects two worlds that seem completely different: a little child opening a package containing a new book and an Ohio State senior standing under the lights in the Scarlet and Gray.

The distance between those two moments may be measured in years, but the connection remains. One represents possibility. The other represents how far possibility can take someone.

Jermaine Mathews Jr.’s reflection is ultimately a beautiful reminder that we never truly know which moments from childhood will stay with us. Sometimes, the things that appear smallest become the memories we carry the longest. A book arriving in the mail may have been just one moment in a young boy’s life, but years later, it has become part of a story about growth, gratitude, and the extraordinary impact of giving children the chance to dream.

And somewhere in that journey is the enduring power of Dolly Parton’s legacy: a simple book, placed in the hands of a child, becoming part of a story that continues to be written.