When Belay Brummel arrived in the United States, he did not speak a single word of English. Today, he is graduating from the nation's top public university in only two-and-a-half years.

Brummel is not the only person, or maybe even the only student-athlete, to graduate from UC Berkeley in only two and a half years. But it would be hard to find anyone with a similar story.

Jeff and Rebekah Brummel already had three children when they decided to adopt a fourth. While the Brummels prepared for that adoption, their future son was living in an orphanage in the African country of Ethiopia.

"It is kind of weird to say, but when we saw his picture, we just knew," Rebekah said. "We just knew he was supposed to be in our family."

When the time came to pick up 5-year-old Belay and bring him home, Jeff and Rebekah, along with their oldest child, Jack. made the 15,000-mile round trip from the Chicago area to Ethiopia.

"When the bus pulled up to the orphanage, Jack saw him out of a crowd and jumped out of the van ahead of everyone else to run off to meet him," Rebekah said.

Belay welcomed the warm greeting from his new brother and parents. It would be natural to think the adjustment could be difficult, but the opposite turned out to be true. Rebekah and Jeff said that Belay's transition was easy and happened almost immediately.

"We were worried about him going to kindergarten," Rebekah said. "But I remember going to visit his class, and two of the boys ran up and said, 'He's our best friend. We always pick him for recess.'"

Sports came easy for Belay, and the Brummels signed him up for as many as they could. By the time he was in middle school, football was part of that equation, and Belay was hooked.

But sports were far from all Belay was doing.

Now living on a farm in the Chicago suburb of Plano along with his parents and three siblings - Jack, Lily, and Vivian - Belay was a regular helper with the work that was required but wanted to play an even bigger role. By the time he was in middle school, he had added running a cattle business to his resume.

"Our family didn't have cattle, but I really wanted to have cattle like I did in Ethiopia, so I asked my dad if there was any way we could get some cows," Belay said.

His dad told Belay that he could only if he was responsible for them.

"He had always been a hard worker, so I wasn't worried giving him the responsibility of the cattle," Jeff said.

"I was in charge of four cows; they were mine," Belay said. "I'd wake up at 6 a.m. to feed them, give them water, and whatever else they needed. My dad would help out with the feed production, selling the actual cows and taking them to the butcher, but I was in charge of the day-to-day stuff."

The experience taught Belay discipline at a young age.

"I remember getting upset because I couldn't sleep over at my friend's house because I had to wake up in the morning to take care of the cows," Belay said. "But looking back, lessons like these are what help me get to where I am today."

Belay was also focusing a lot of energy on the gridiron, and by the time his junior campaign rolled around at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, he was splitting starting quarterback reps on an 8-3 squad that reached the second round of the Illinois prep 4A playoffs. He started in the playoffs and led his team to their first home playoff victory in school history. As a senior, Brummel took over the starting quarterback job and led the Warriors to an 8-2 record and back to the playoffs, while throwing for over 2,000 yards and completing 67% of his passes.

His performance was strong enough to get him offers to a few Division I schools and several preferred walk-on offers from major programs, including one from Cal. Belay had never been to Berkeley, but knew of its strong reputation for both athletics and academics. He told his family that he was going to take the opportunity. 

"I committed without visiting," Brummel said. "The academics and the opportunity to play were really big for me. At the time, there were only three quarterbacks on the roster."

Brummel's adjustment to life off the field at Berkeley was relatively easy as he quickly immersed himself in the busy student-athlete lifestyle. He is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Entrepreneurship Hub. But arguably the toughest part of his life journey from Ethiopia to a college football player in America was still to come. 

Although he has completed 120 college units all at Berkeley in only two-and-a-half years, enjoyed the campus culture and been a consistent positive presence within the football program, Belay has never taken a single game snap for the Golden Bears.

It's something he's had to work through.`

"It really tested me," Belay said. "Every player wants to be on the field, but looking back, it has made me a better person. Not getting playing time made me upset and at times took a toll on my confidence, and I still catch myself getting frustrated because, like anyone else, I want to have a bigger role and help the team win. But ultimately, I've learned that you can have just as big an impact off the field as on it."

Off the field, Belay leads the annual Golden Buddies football camp that welcomes kids with and without disabilities. Last spring, the camp had over 150 campers.

"Not being the star player or getting on the field has taught me life lessons I will carry for the rest of my life, lessons of resilience and being a team player," Belay said. "I hope I have made an impact on the people around me."

His teammates certainly think so.

"Belay is a great quarterback, but he's an even better person," Cal true freshman All-America signal-caller Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele said. "He's always willing to just talk if something is bothering me or stay around after practice with me if I need extra reps to help me clean something up."

"Belay is one of those selfless guys who takes pride in helping other people succeed," wide receiver Jordan King added. "He helps others with their mechanics, how to watch film, and so many other things on and off the field. It's something that he enjoys not so much for himself but for others to be able to grow and progress. You don't come across someone like that a lot."

Maybe not a lot, but guys who have been adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage, taught a strong work ethic on a family farm, enjoyed playing the ultimate team game with hundreds of their newfound brothers, and graduated from the University of California in two-and-a-half years aren't easy to come by either.

You might even say one of a kind.