Taliah Wright’s world is anchored in school involvement, community service, and family. A senior at Kokomo High School, Wright has had to overcome unimaginable tragedy. Last January, Taliah’s youngest sibling Bella passed away. She suffered from Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, and was wheelchair-bound. Taliah says she and her siblings surrounded Bella with love for her entire life.
“Bella couldn’t walk, talk, or do anything by herself,” Wright says. “My brother, Reece, sister, Addie, and I spent a lot of time with her. We had our way of communicating.”
Wright’s Mom Kelly is a teacher and the Director of the Head Start Program. Wright says, when her sister passed away, she threw herself into school and community to help through the grief.
“I love helping my community,” says Taliah. She is serving as vice president of Girls League, a community service group. She is on the student council and is a member of Kokomo Leadership Academy, an organization of upperclassmen that strengthens school culture by mentoring freshmen.
Taliah babysits and also has experience working other jobs. This summer she worked at Moo Stache Ice. She also coached soccer and baseball for 2- and 3-year-olds at Playpen Sports Academy. “It was really helpful to me to work with kids since I want to be a teacher,” she says.
Besides math, Wright’s favorite class is Tomorrow’s Teachers. Run by Indiana University Kokomo, the class visits early-childhood, elementary and middle schools. By shadowing teachers, students get an idea of what teachers do, and whether they would like to pursue the career.
Wright says she knows for sure that she wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an educator. Indiana University is at the top of her list. However, she would still like to visit other universities.
Wright admits that she had some bad days, but it has gotten better.
She credits the support of her church youth group at Grace United Methodist, her friends, and caring adults who made the effort to reach out to her. She is grateful for her friend, Karlee, and Karlee’s family, who were there for her in the days after her sister’s passing. She also names her color guard coach, Mrs. Wideman, as someone who checked in on her.
Wright’s advice to people faced with a loss is to “open up to others. Don’t just keep it in. That can make it worse. My friends have been important to me. It helps to know you have people on your side.”
