EXCLUSIVE: He became a father at 17. Now his daughters call him ‘Super Dad’

Nearly 24 years ago, Neil Mohammed was 17 years old, a senior at Palm Bay High School and a new father to his 2-month-old baby girl, IvyAnna. He was also the subject of a FLORIDA TODAY article published Oct. 20, 2002, under the headline, “Young fathers face grown-up challenges.”

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At the time, Mohammed was still figuring out how to balance high school with diapers, feedings and the responsibilities of raising a child. Determined not to fit the stereotype of an uninvolved teenage father, he attended parenting classes through his high school and tried to learn everything he could about being a dad.

Today, Mohammed is 41, the father of three daughters and still measures much of his life by that role. And now, at the urging of his children, he is competing for a title that the teenager in that old newspaper story might have appreciated: “Super Dad.”

Super Dad is a nationwide competition with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network. The winning dad will appear in a national TV commercial for Ace Hardware and win $25,000. For Mohammed, the contest has become more than a chance to win a prize. It has also given him a reason to look back at the young father he was in 2002 – and at everything that happened in the years between.

There were jobs and relationships, a divorce and difficult stretches, lessons learned and mistakes made. His family grew, changed and, at times, had to be rebuilt.

But Mohammed said one thing remained constant.

“Jobs change, relationships change and money comes and goes,” he said. “But being their dad is permanent.”

Learning how to be a father

His story as a father began before he was old enough to vote.

After learning of the pregnancy, Mohammed initially left school and went to work for a lawn care service so he could earn money to help support his daughter. But at the urging of his parents, he returned to Palm Bay High and joined the Teenage Parents Program, which encouraged young parents to finish school while providing parenting education and childcare.

“I joined because being a father was never something I wanted to do halfway. I wanted to learn, be involved and give my daughter the best version of myself I could,” Mohammed said.

Much of that determination, he said, came from his own father.

“Part of why I took fatherhood so seriously so young was because my dad was always there for me,” he said. “I knew what it felt like to have a father who showed up, and I wanted my children to have that same security.”

That bond remains strong today. Mohammed eventually built his own home next door to his father so he and his daughters could spend time with him regularly.

But back in 2002, simply getting through each day required a careful balancing act.

Mohammed attended classes during the day and took an additional night class to complete his coursework. He also worked part time in the evenings, while his mother and IvyAnna’s mother helped with childcare.

“I was getting almost no sleep, and honestly, that was the hardest part,” he said. “But Ivy was all the motivation I needed. I had someone depending on me, and giving up wasn’t an option.”

Mohammed earned his diploma and went to work as an auto mechanic while also attending Brevard Community College, now Eastern Florida State College.

He married his high school sweetheart in 2006, and the couple later had two more daughters, JaeLynn and Olivia. In 2016, Mohammed began working as a scheduling analyst at Collins Aerospace, where he has remained for the past decade.

Fatherhood through difficult years

In 2023, the family changed again.

By then, IvyAnna was 20, JaeLynn was 16 and Olivia was 12 when Mohammed and his wife divorced.

“The divorce was hard on all of us, but I never wanted my kids to feel like they had to choose between their parents,” he said. “I always wanted my daughters to know that my home was their home, no matter what.”

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His daughters said that consistency is one of the things they remember most.

IvyAnna, now 23, said her father worked hard to provide for the family but still made time to be with his children, whether they were fishing, playing video games or simply spending time together.

“To me, being a great dad isn’t just about providing. It’s about being present, making memories, showing love, and putting your family first,” she said. “He may not call himself a Super Dad, but to his kids, he absolutely is.”

For Olivia, 15, what stands out most is that her father continued to show up even when life became difficult.

“My dad has taught me that being strong doesn’t mean that you won’t struggle. It means that showing up matters,” she said, and described him as both a parent and a best friend – someone she can turn to for guidance, advice or reassurance when things go wrong.

“I always know that I have my dad,” Olivia said.

A new chapter of fatherhood

Today, Mohammed’s family is growing in a different way.

In January, he met Nalyjah, a single mother of three children – a 14-year-old son and two daughters, ages 6 and 7 – and the two have begun blending their families.

“It’s definitely been an adjustment for all of us, but we’re learning and growing together,” Mohammed said. “I already had three daughters, and now I have three more children in my life to love and care for. We’re one big, happy family, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

For Mohammed, fatherhood now looks very different than it did when he was 17. But some of the lessons have remained the same. And he has advice for other young fathers.

“To any young dad out there, just show up. You don’t have to have all the money in the world or have everything figured out,” he said. “Be there for your kids, listen to them, encourage them, and make sure they know they’re loved. Those little moments add up over time, one day, you’ll look back and realize just how much they meant.”

Now, when Mohammed looks at the old newspaper story from 2002, he said he sees a teenager who had no idea what life had in store for him but already knew what kind of father he wanted to be.

If he could tell that 17-year-old version of himself anything, he said, it would be to keep going.

“You’re going to have some hard days, make mistakes, and question yourself, but every sacrifice will be worth it,” Mohammed said. “I think that 17-year-old kid would be pretty proud of the dad I’ve become today.”

And more than two decades after FLORIDA TODAY first wrote about Mohammed learning how to be a father, his daughters are now helping put that fatherhood to a different kind of test.

Neil Mohammed is currently first in his group in the Super Dad competition. Voting to determine the top 15 remains open through 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.

This reporting is supported by a Journalism Funding Partners grant. Mental Health Reporter Jennifer Torres can be reached at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: EXCLUSIVE: He became a father at 17. Now his daughters call him ‘Super Dad’

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Reporting by Jennifer M. Torres, Florida Today / Florida Today

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This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 5:01 AM.