BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – City Honors senior Nevaeh Foster always puts her team first.
“I’m more of a facilitator, I wouldn’t consider myself a scorer. I honestly try my best to assist and get my team more involved rather than just me being the star player,” Nevaeh said.
While Nevaeh is very humble about her accomplishments, her basketball coach, Trey Gardner explains everything Nevaeh does to help the team win.
“She’s our point guard so her vision on the court she pretty much has her hand on the ball and in every play because she’s really able to incorporate the entire team and all the players in their involvement,” Coach Gardner said.
Nevaeh ran cross country and played rugby but her main sport is basketball as she played varsity for City Honors High School for four years. This year she took her leadership skills to a whole new level serving as the team’s sole captain.
“I’ve done this so long and I don’t know if I’ve had somebody as equipped for that position. I nicknamed her the ‘mother hen’, she just took such good care of us on the court, off the court. I think people just felt because she was involved everything was good. she kind of protected us,” Coach Gardner said.
And it’s not just with athletics she is good at, but in the classroom as well. Nevaeh maintains a 99.7 GPA making her our March female scholar athlete.
On top of all of that, Nevaeh is extremely dedicated to making the community a better place.
“At school I’m a scholar for social justice through the CLRI [Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives] program as well as an our story project scholar. These programs are focused on diversity and inclusion. So through those programs, through CLRI I’ve been able to develop my leadership skills obviously and able to practice on public speaking, organizing different events, community service as well as other things in the community,” Nevaeh explained.
Here is a little bit more about City Honors High School’s CLRI [Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives] program:
The mission of the Buffalo Public Schools’ Office of CLRI is to share the value and best practices of culturally and linguistically responsive practices in order to support and respond to the growing needs of our diverse student population. The CLRI team at each Buffalo school helps to provide supports, resources, exemplars, and a framework for stakeholders to receive lifelong meaningful learning experiences that inform, train, and support systemic culturally and linguistically responsive practices.
Because of the work she does, Nevaeh won the Keeping the Dream Alive, Martin Luther King Jr. award given to a senior who “strives to embody the ideals and principles Martin Luther King Jr. represented in his fight for civil rights”. It’s one of the most prestigious awards a city honors student can win.
“It shows there’s a lot of people watching that you wouldn’t think. I’ve been able to be recognized for the work I’ve been putting in and I wasn’t expecting it at all but it’s very meaningful,” Nevaeh explained.
“She has her hand in so much of this City Honors community, the outside community, she works with young people, social justice, she just stands for what’s really good,” Trey Gardner smiled.
So what’s next for Nevaeh? She wants to go to Syracuse University to major in exercise science on the way to earning her doctorate for physical therapy.