‘He was a blessing to me’: Akil Drake’s mentor remembers him as fun-loving, driven

PENN HILLS, Pa. — The Penn Hills football field was the home of Akil Drake throughout school, but football to him was never the end goal.

“His thing about football is it was a means to an end. He got his education but he wasn’t banking his life on football. He learned good lessons, like how to be a good teammate,” Lee Davis said.

It’s those skills that Davis said propelled Drake into the financial field at Chase Bank in Youngstown.

“He was a fun-loving kid, he was a learner. He always wanted to listen and hear how I made it to where I made it. He was always taking notes and wanted to be the best he could be,” Davis said.

Davis, serving as a mentor for the last decade to Drake, was shocked to hear of his death. Drake was trapped inside his workplace when it exploded last week. He was killed and seven others were sent to the hospital.

>>> Penn Hills graduate killed in explosion in downtown Youngstown

“Devastating. I can only imagine what his family is going through, but I know what he was going to do for the future. I know how he moved and the way he spoke. He was going to do the same thing I’m doing now, mentoring young men and just showing them a different way of life,” Davis said.

It’s a loss being felt around both Pittsburgh and Ohio as his family can’t even put the loss into words. A future cut short, but a person Davis will never forget.

“He was a blessing to me as well,” Davis said.

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