Derek Fiorenza was emphatic: “It’s not about me; it’s about them.”

That may be his preference, but given his accomplishments, this modest young man will have to suffer the embarrassment of exposure.

He is 23, grew up in Downingtown, and was salutatorian of the Class of 2005 at Bishop Shanahan High School.

He earned his degree in communication and business from Villanova University in three years.

He recently added a master’s degree in business from California University of Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, where he was a punter on the football team. Mike Conway, the coach who recruited him, calls him “one of the most amazing young men I’ve met, on and off the field.”

Last summer, he mentored 10 fellow football players who were struggling academically. “He would not accept failure,” Conway says. “He called them constantly and stayed on them like a parent. Thanks to his tenacity, every one of those kids got eligible.”

For nearly three years, he worked part-time for his father’s benefits consulting company in King of Prussia, selling health and life insurance, while commuting between here and western Pennsylvania every week.

As a boy, following the example of his parents, he volunteered at shelters and soup kitchens, serving meals to the homeless, especially around the holidays.