Jameson Wang loves the journey. He embraces the process and all the hard work that goes along with it.

“I love getting better every single day,” he said. “I love focusing on things that I can get better at during practice because at the end of the day, no one is going to be perfect, but you’re striving for perfection.”

The Cornell quarterback has been chasing perfection since he was 4, when his father introduced him to football.

“I always knew I had to work harder than everyone else,” Wang said. “That’s just what my dad taught me. That’s what all my mentors and coaches fed into me. That’s been their advice.”

Wang’s father fell in love with the sport after immigrating to the United States from Taiwan. For most of Wang’s childhood, his father was his coach. He showed him how to read coverages and evade tacklers on the field, but also how to handle negative comments because of his race.

“I like to tell this story a lot,” Wang said. “I was running out of bounds toward the opponent’s sideline, and these kids on the bench who weren’t even playing, they came up to me, and they’re like how do you even see out there? And it’s just little comments like that.”

But Wang was always taught to respond with his play. The action on the field said it all. As a duel-threat quarterback in Southern California, Wang amassed more than 10,000 yards and 114 touchdowns in his high school career.

“My biggest thing is I’m always going to earn your respect on the field,” he said. “I don’t care what skin color I am. I don’t care how tall, how big, how fast I am. But I’m just going to earn your respect on the field.”

After high school, Wang initially took his talents to the Air Force Academy. But he later decided the military and their offensive system wasn’t for him.

An offer from Cornell was still on the table. Wang saw the opportunity to play for the Big Red, while also earning an Ivy League education, too good to pass up a second time.

“It’s a great environment. I love playing with my brothers,” Wang said.

With every snap he takes, Wang knows he's playing for something much bigger. According to the NCAA, there were only 116 Asian Division One football players last year, out more than 30,000 athletes out on the gridiron. Wang takes pride in that representation and the larger community that’s following his journey.

“That can put a lot of pressure on some people, but I take pride with that,” he said. “I embrace it and I really enjoy it.”

After seeing limited action his freshman season, Wang took over as the starter his sophomore year. He threw for more than 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns. Wang also rushed for 559 yards and eight touchdowns for Cornell.

“We’re kind of changing the culture here at Cornell when it comes to football,” said Wang, during spring practices. “And we’re just making good strides of being the best team possible that we can be.”

As he prepares for his third year with the Big Red, the goal this season is to win the Ivy League. After his playing career wraps up, Wang wants to get into coaching, just like his dad.

It’s a different chapter in the football journey, but still inspiring future generations of Asian American football players.