Cincinnati, I'm back. It's been a while.
But I needed time away to learn and grow so that I would fully appreciate this opportunity to return.
There were career stops in Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Connecticut, Arizona and Wisconsin. There was a three-and-a-half-year stint at ESPN that ended in a stunning and crushing layoff. Then there was a year and a half of teaching broadcast journalism and coaching football at a high school in Goodyear, Arizona. That was followed by a three-year run with The Associated Press that included covering everything from the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history to the NFL and NBA playoffs.
But now, I'm back in Ohio, specifically in my hometown of Cincinnati, where I am eager to serve as The Enquirer's Cincinnati Bearcats beat reporter.
It feels so good to be back in the city where it all started, and to have the opportunity to cover programs I've been around since before I could walk.
The University of Cincinnati is a large part of my DNA. My dad, Keith Jenkins (I'm Keith Jenkins II), was a standout defensive back and return specialist for the Bearcats before being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1977 (161st overall pick). I can still remember attending games with him as a kid and all his former teammates telling me how they had never seen anyone run as fast as my father.
I have two uncles with degrees from UC, and the Bearcats were the first major program to recruit me to play football for them while I was carving out my own lane over at Walnut Hills High School.
My mom and I religiously attended basketball games at "The Shoe."
I was a fixture at Bob Huggins' basketball camp in elementary school and middle school. Kenyon Martin was our coach when my team won the camp's five-on-five championship during the summer of 1999. I may or may not have cried when Kenyon suffered a broken leg in the final game of the Conference USA tournament in 2000, derailing what could have been a historic run to a national championship.
Anybody remember eating at Huggs Inn? (I have a great story about that place but I'll save that for another time.)
Yes, I'm a Bearcat. But it didn't start out that way.
The plan was to follow in my father's footsteps and play football at Nippert Stadium. But then-head coach Rick Minter was fired following the 2003 season and my plan changed.
I elected instead to attend the University of Toledo. But after an injury halted my playing career, I ultimately wound up at UC, where I earned a degree in journalism.
I came back in February to accept an award from the university for my career achievements. Being back in this city with my family and longtime friends just felt right. It felt comfortable and warm. I was home.
I've spent a career doing volunteer work and different community outreach projects to positively impact the city and state in which I resided. Now, I look forward to doing that same work and having a much greater impact here.
It is my mission to be the go-to source for everything that has anything to do with UC athletics, while also being an uplifting and important voice in the community.
It is an uncertain time for all of us. But we're in this together. I am eager to help navigate this city back to "normal" through my work in the local neighborhoods, while also informing and entertaining you through my work on the Bearcats beat.
Early in my career, I had an award-winning sports column titled, Food for Thought. In that column, I would close by saying, "This is Food for Thought, you do the dishes." It's an old quote from Jay-Z in an intro to one of his albums.
Well, consider this my first dish with The Enquirer. Pull up a chair, get comfortable and make sure you save room for dessert. I'm just getting started.