By Mary Barringer

An undeniable spark of genius in fourth-grade student Dakiyah Meadows becomes more evident as she talks about family, school, and dreams of the future.

Perhaps that spark is due in part to a foundation of multi-generational familial support. Dakiyah has a large family, including her grandmother, mother, four sisters, and three brothers. She speaks with great pride about her family’s athletic legacy. Her grandmother played softball, and her mother played basketball. Her 8-year-old sister is a cheerleader — “aka gymnast.” She also has a cousin who plays volleyball and another who plays basketball.

With such a history, it is no surprise that Dakiyah plays volleyball. She loves the game and how the team supports and encourages each other. While Dakiyah excels at volleyball, it is also where she has overcome challenges. She recalls being unable to hit or spike the volleyball correctly. She overcame that challenge by watching other athletes’ YouTube videos and with lots of practice. When asked about her abilities on the volleyball court now, she said, “I can hit the ball very hard.” — a skill that has helped her team score more points and win more games.

Dakiyah is a lifelong resident of Mounds and student of Meridian. Her favorite class is math. She says she “likes to solve hard problems.” Her intellectual spark and penchant for solving challenging problems can be heard as she describes acute, obtuse, and right angles, and how she might use that knowledge. “You can build walls and measure things. You have to make sure the angles are right, and the walls are flush, or the walls will fall down.”

Dakiyah is a good student who is quick to help other students who might not understand a difficult concept. She encourages them not to give up. “When they are down, I tell them to take five deep breaths, calm down, and work the problem out on paper. Tell yourself, I can do this, I can do this…”

Dakiyah is not without her own support system. In addition to family, Dakiyah has Meridian’s excellent teachers and principal. Dakiyah says Meridian’s principal, Ms. Marshall, works hard to teach students what they should do. When asked about Meridian’s teachers, she said, “They teach you more than you would learn at home and help keep you informed about what’s going on in the world, like the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

English isn’t a favorite subject, even so, Dakiyah expressed herself very well when asked what she thought about the situation in Ukraine – “Ukraine deserves to have their country. Russia shouldn’t try to take it from them.”

She dreams of helping those in Ukraine by providing food, clothing, water, shelter, and a big hug. That empathetic and caring nature is boundless. She seems to recognize that the injustices faced by Ukrainians are present elsewhere. When asked how she would change the world, Dakiyah said she would “make it a place where everyone is equal; everyone has the same things, can do the same things – no one is different.”

To quote Maya Angelou, “Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” Family and teachers have given Dakiyah a solid foundation to successfully pursue her dreams of attending Shawnee College and playing professional volleyball. Whatever her future holds, nothing can dim a spark that shines so bright.