Huck House Youth Award Winner Nikia Glenn-Falls
Nikia suffered a personal tragedy that would bring most of us to our knees. Two years ago, her mother was murdered in front of her. During the days following her mother’s death, Nikia looked to Walnut Ridge High School for support. She questioned how normalcy would ever return to her life. Slowly she began to talk about the future and how to allow the tragedy that occurred on April 22, 2015 to propel her to the top. As a junior, Nikia played volleyball, basketball and softball and earned a 3.3 GPA. She found herself adjusting to life without her mother and became a spokesperson about violence and the innocent people that often are victims of retaliation.
Nikia experienced a day that no teenager should endure. But against all odds, she has used her trauma to improve herself and help others. Her loss has inspired a new Social Emotional Learning course at Walnut Ridge called Strategies for Success. Its motto is to BE THE ONE to overcome obstacles and make a difference. She walks through the halls with the respect of her peers, teachers and teammates. Nikia Glenn-Falls is a superhero. Like Spiderman, she has turned the loss of a parent during her developmental years into a mission to succeed on a personal level and to save lives along the way.
