By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Always among the smartest in his class, Terreon Conyers sailed through his four years at Booker T. Washington High in Norfolk. 
 
Then came college … and not just any college.
 
William & Mary was a different world, as Conyers quickly discovered.
 
"In my first semester, for the first time in my life, I failed a class — microeconomics," Conyers said. "That was humbling.  But then I became an econ major. That's taking on a challenge, right?"

Conyers '10, a former wide receiver on the football team, defines challenges as "life-changing moments." Flunking microeconomics was a major one.

That experience changed his work habits, which led to his degree at William & Mary. And that led to the many hats he's worn as a professional, from tax accountant to a Class A contractor with his own business.

But to get to William & Mary in the first place, Conyers had another life-changing moment.

Going into his sophomore year at Booker T., Conyers was third on the depth chart at receiver behind future NFL players Don Carey and Antoine Thompson. But early in the season opener, Carey was flagged for a false start and Thompson ran the wrong route. So Conyers was sent into the game.

Almost immediately, he dropped a pass. But having been impressed by Conyers' work ethic in practice, the Bookers' coach stuck with him. Conyers ended up catching a touchdown pass.

"That changed my trajectory," Conyers said. "I was a three-year starter and had 1,000 (receiving) yards as a senior. It happened because someone believed in the work I was putting in behind the scenes."

And it led to a scholarship to William & Mary. His lead recruiter was the late Bob Solderitch '86, who was then the assistant head coach for the Tribe.

Then came the Tribe's football season of 2009, which was one of the most successful in program history and saw the Tribe advance to the national semi-finals. While Conyers contributed in a variety of ways to the team's on-field success, his biggest catch came following a walk-through the Friday before a home playoff game.

As had been a tradition for many years, the athletics department would invite a handful of former alums as "honorary coaches" for the practice session, and they hung around after practice. Many players headed straight for the locker room, but Conyers stopped to shake hands and connect.

One alum he connected with was Bob Newsome '71, then vice president of Conagra Brands, a consumer packaged goods holding company.

"He asked if we had any internships available," Newsome said. "I asked him over the next month to go into some grocery stores and meet with managers to find out what sales reps do. Then I'll call back in a month and see if you're still interested.

"Well, Terreon did his job. Predictably, some of the store managers weren't all that complimentary about sales people coming into their stores. Others thought they provided a pretty good service. Terreon said he was still interested, so we had him come out to Omaha to interview."

Conyers got the internship. And when that ended, he was hired full-time as a sales representative.

"He's not a shy young man," Newsome said. "He's got a personality. I was impressed with him. He was positively assertive."

Jobs at Walmart (assistant manager) and PepsiCo (district sales manager) followed. Then, February of 2016, Conyers co-founded PC Financial Services LLC with former Tribe lineman and Booker T. alum Larry Pendleton '06.

Because Pendleton was four classes ahead of Conyers, their football careers at Booker T. and W&M never overlapped. But they met when Conyers was a Tribe freshman, and their bond created a partnership.

"It was a unique opportunity," said Pendleton, a three-year starter at defensive tackle for W&M. "We have a similar family history and background. We were able to connect, and here we are today. We've built a long-lasting almost family-like relationship."

Conyers and Pendleton still operate PC Financial Services and a real estate portfolio that includes short- and long-term rentals.

Not all life-changing moments are happy ones. In the fall of 2016, Conyers' mother, Darlene, was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died the following March at the age of 52.

"It was completely unexpected," Terreon said. "Almost broke me to the core."

Conyers turned that grief into inspiration.

"I said, what would be something I could do to make sure she's remembered forever. How do I immortalize my mom?" he said. "And it came to me: a scholarship. In five years, I wanted to make sure I created a scholarship for my mom."

In 2018, Conyers became principal owner of Tier-1 Construction, which buys, renovates and remodels real estate in Hampton Roads. He is a Class A licensed contractor who focuses on multi-family acquisition, new construction buildout, and residential renovation.

Conyers prides himself in helping those who come from backgrounds like his.

"The big dogs [in the construction business] don't touch things that are going to take them forever to do," Conyers said. "They can pick and choose on the deals they want. When I started, I worked all the ugly stuff. And I brought them all back to life.

"Everything I do, I put together [homes] like I would want to stay in. In our rentals, we have granite and we have LVP flooring. Two reasons for that: One, I want people to take pride in where they live; two, high-quality stuff lasts a lot longer."

Conyers and Pendleton still operate PC Financial Services and an Airbnb business. All of Conyers' projects are under the Tier-1 umbrella.

As for that scholarship to honor his mother? The inaugural The Darlene Conyers Senior Relief Scholarships were awarded last month — right on schedule.

Three Booker T. Washington seniors received $500 each to spend on college or trade school. Conyers had originally planned on giving two grants the first year, but an anonymous donor came forward with another $500.

"The scholarship is for inner-city kids who went to our high school and don't have the best grades but changed the trajectory of their high school career," Conyers said. "People who tried their best to change their circumstances.
"Like my mom. She was always trying to do the best for us. And she went back to get her associate's degree."

Conyers lives in the Norview section of Norfolk with his wife, Danielle, a former classmate at Booker T. They have two daughters: Ava, 6, and Alaya, 3.

Danielle graduated from Norfolk State with a degree in computer science and has a Master's in systems engineering from Old Dominion. She is a systems engineer with the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command.

She also helps with her husband's career and is more than willing to pick up a hammer.

"Her dad was a carpenter," Conyers said. "She knew more about real estate than I did at one time. Some of my earlier projects, she'd be like, 'That tile's crooked.' I'm like, 'No, it's not.' She's like, 'Come look from this angle.' And I'm like, 'Oh, man, it is!'

"She and I have rental properties outside what Larry and I do. She's an investor as well. She's the backbone of everything that's going on."

There's plenty going on. Yet Terreon Conyers envisions more.

"Ultimately, I want to go into full-time mentorship of people, especially in the field of entrepreneurship and business," he said. "Financial literacy is a lost art. It's not taught at an earlier stage. I see myself giving back in that way, by teaching younger people about business and how to be successful.

"As someone who has survived and truly optimized the opportunities I've been given so far, I wear that as a badge of honor. I honestly never imagined my life going this way."

Conyers thanks William & Mary for the boost.

"William & Mary really encouraged me to stretch my potential," he said. "It definitely changed my life."