By Nate Fisher

If you were to ask students in Alia Houston’s age group about a common goal they share, you most likely wouldn’t hear her brand of answer too often. That answer is the passion that drives Alia’s pursuit of her career goals: she wants to heal people so they can obtain what they need and deserve to have.

Alia is a 15-year-old sophomore at Meridian High School and is currently showing her peers how an ideal social worker or nurse in the making, her two current picks for career paths, might act and reach excellence in care. With a 4.0 GPA and Southeast Missouri State University in her sights, she shows a level of commitment you would expect of someone in social work and has a developed sense of community based on the relationship with her siblings.

With one older brother, four older sisters, and one younger sister, Alia highlights the value of a tight-knit relationship with siblings, as it comes with the free perk of built-in, ready-to-go friendships. This close bond with her family also spurs her desire to pursue social work or nursing, as she has had the benefit of a loving home. With this support system in place, she says that she’ll be more than capable of being successful in college. Her plans for her time in college are varied, but include working on scholarships, participating in activities, and building a solid resume so she can chase down her goals with the appropriate credentials in hand.

Her ties to her family and hometown are strong, but Alia has also enjoyed time in unfamiliar places through vacations she’s taken in the past. She loved visiting Panama City and San Antonio, which is the farthest she’s been from home. Though she has a connection with her hometown, she wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to attend a top East or West Coast school if offered the chance.

The love of volleyball, which she’s played since 6th grade, has contributed to her talent of working with a team and facing obstacles under high-stress conditions. Combined with her many summers spent playing softball, she has already started work on building up a persistence that will carry her onward and upward.

Alia’s superpower and key to her ongoing achievements is her ability to take criticism. Though she admits she feels a bit intimidated by showing confidence in public, her tendency to think out a problem before solving it will generate more wins to help build a better public confidence. It’s by no means a leap to predict that in helping others to heal, this alleged “problem” will fade in the brightness of the many voices she will go on to aid.