Blue White Illustrated

involved in what he terms "historical ren- ovations." "These are projects where you take old warehouses and turn them into lofts," he said. "You get tax credits from the gov- ernment because it's the preservation of historical buildings instead of tearing them down. But I still wanted to find something I was passionate in." Carter found what he was looking for on the golf course. "I was playing golf and a guy approached me about [selling] a product that was good against norovirus," Carter said. "He told me the product also kills staph infections. That got my attention because this was something personal. I asked him if I could take this product into industries that I had been involved with like athletics. He said that would be perfect, and I started a relationship with that company. From there, it's blossomed into a one-stop shop for any business. "I went from carrying one product to where I now have over 50,000. We also have an e-commerce store where people can buy our product online, everything from laundry detergents to dishwashing liquid to gloves to food service items and everything in between." His company website, byoglobe.com, offers such other disparate products as ice cream scoops, oven grill cleaners, mops and brooms, industrial first aid kits and calendars. "I can sell a product to schools and health clubs, but also to lawyers and den- tists or whoever," Carter said. "But the ones I really get involved with are athletic teams and parents of kids who are ath- letes. A lot of times, people don't think about [infections or viruses] until they actually get it or know somebody who contracts it, and sometimes it's too late. So we try to educate and help prevent instead of reacting, by showing them dif- ferent products they should be using on a daily basis in their facility or in their home." Perhaps Carter's life would have gone in a far different direction had he enjoyed the type of success in the NFL that he had at Penn State. Of course, he wishes he had not had all those injuries, but he doesn't blame himself. "I did all I could and have no regrets," he said. "I'm happy now and I'm just trying to grow my business." However, there is one aspect of his life that is a little irritating. When he makes his air reservations and goes through the TSA checkpoints at airports, he is no longer Ki-Jana Carter but Kenneth Leonard Carter. Those are the first and middle names of his father, who abandoned him; he was raised by his mother, who gave him the name Ki-Jana. "My ID card has Kenneth Leonard be- cause that's the name I was given at birth," Carter said. "I try to keep a low profile, but when I'm recognized at the airport or somewhere else and I have to show my ID, they ask me about it. The first couple years when I was little and going into school, they called me by my real name, but after that everyone knew me as Ki- Jana and that's on my Social Security card." Carter's mother fell in love with the name Ki-Jana after watching a movie, "Shaft in Africa," featuring actor Richard Roundtree as a private detective named John Shaft. The 1973 movie was the third in a series of "Shaft" films that were pop- ular in the 1970s. A check of the credits for "Shaft in Africa" does not show any actor or char- acter named Ki-Jana, but it might be the name of a bit player. However, further re- search reveals Kijana (sic) is a Swahili word that means youth and is frequently given to baby girls. One website dealing with destiny, love and astrology defines the meaning of the name this way: "EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, ideal- istic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The so- lution is service to others. Use your lead- ership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science. You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way." That's Ki-Jana Carter, no doubt about it. ■ The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions A diary by Lou Prato, author of the Penn State Football Encyclopedia and four other Nittany Lion books Personalized autographed copy available through Lou Prato and Associates Call 814-692-7577 or email louprato@comcast.net Price: $19.95 plus tax and shipping

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