VYPE Klein December 2022

Klein forest cover story

\\ By Ma t t Ma l a t e s t a S I M I E N MA K I N G A N AM E F O R H E R S E L F I N A T H L E T I C S ; A C A D E M I C S COMING OF AGE

teenager. “I want to be a doctor,” she said. “I love helping people. I know I want to be a registered nurse, but being a doctor is my real goal . “People might not know I also l ike to wri te, and the last book I read was Black Like Me. Academics are very impor tant to me and I work just as hard in the classroom as I do in athletics .” “At the end of the day, I just want people to know my name when I leave Klein Forest . I want to be known.” Mission accompl ished.

and fel l in love wi th that , too.” Fast-forward si x years and Simien has just enjoyed a successful season anchoring the net for Klein Forest in vol leybal l and has big expectations for her team on the hardwood. “I feel l ike we can go to the playoffs in basketbal l ,” she said. “I want to change the perception of Klein Forest basketbal l . We have the potential to do i t , i t ’s just on us . I want to average a double-double and be the District MVP. Why not ?” Whi le spor ts are a big par t of her l i fe, that does not def ine the cerebral

I saw the pathway to earn scholarships… I could get every thing I wanted i f I just worked hard enough.” The 6-foot-1 senior was a late-comer to the youth spor ts world. “It was never my intention to play spor ts as a kid,” she said. “One of my middle school teachers who also coached approached me to come out and play basketbal l . She said I was a natural f i t for the spor t because of my size. I hadn’ t played a day in my l i fe. I tried out and I was a natural at i t . After that , I just star ted getting serious about the game. Then I star ted playing vol leybal l

KLEIN FOREST ATHLETE NADAZIA SIMIEN HAS A PRESENCE.

She is the “It Girl ” inside the Golden Eagle nest as a star for the vol leybal l and basketbal l teams . She’s has blossomed into a great ambassador for the school on the cour t . But i t wasn’ t always that way. “It was real ly tough in middle school ,” she said. “I was teased al l the time for being so tal l and so dark skinned. It ’s hard for a girl that age. Things changed quickly when I arrived at high school . Doors just opened up for me. I played spor ts;

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