Whether it comes to academics or athletics, Trent Thompson is not afraid of hard work. It runs in his family.
Thompson was born to James Thompson and Bridgette Flewellen in Albany on July 27, 1996. He and his two brothers — Trey Flewellen, 23, and Tyreck (pronounced ty-REEK) Thompson, 15, have been raised primarily by his mother, with considerable help from her parents, Eddie Lee and Shirley Flewellen.
That’s because Bridgette Flewellen has always worked, and often more than one job. At first it was in a local manufacturing plant, but now she has a job in home healthcare. But she doesn’t plan to stick with that.
Flewellen has been going to night school for years. And earlier this year, she graduated from Troy University with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice.
“I was just waiting for (Trent) to get through (with high school) before I applied for some jobs in my field,” Flewellen said. “But there ain’t nothing here. I’ve been looking at ads and there are a lot of positions in Atlanta. But my baby (Tyreck) has got me stuck here. He wants to finish out at Westover, too, so I’m going to honor that.”
It was through his grandparents that Thompson’s work ethic was first honed.
Eddie Lee would take young Trent along to wrangle chickens and do hand work on surrounding farms. And when Trent started to ask for money as a young teen, his grandmother gave him a used lawn mower and pointed him out into the neighborhood. Soon, a small enterprise that included leaf-raking and pinestraw-strewing and the like had been born.
“I’ve been making my own money for a long time,” Trent said proudly. “Nobody gave it to me.”
Trent has carried those lessons with him to Georgia, but his grandparents didn’t live to see it. Eddie Lee died suddenly in 2007 and “Mama Shirley,” as he called his grandmother, “went home” on Thanksgiving Day in 2011.
How much did that couple mean to Thompson? He committed to the Bulldogs on the date of their wedding anniversary, and their names are tattooed on Thompson’s massive arms.
It’s been a tough run in the Flewellen family. Bridgette’s brother, Nicholas Flewellen, died in a house fire last year. But Bridgette Flewellen said they’re all watching over Thompson from heaven as he embarks on his collegiate career.
“He says, ‘Mom, I’ve got to grow up,’” his mother shares. “He says, ‘I’ve got a job to do. It’ll be a little tougher than high school, but I’ll get it done.’ He just wants to do his best; I want him to do his best. I know he’s got a lot big shoes to fill when he gets there. A lot. But he’s not expecting to just show up and get a spot. He’s knows he’s got to work his way up.”
Something with which this family is very familiar.
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