WKTV offers on-demand viewing of Wyoming and Kentwood sports events and government meetings, including the monthly Government Matters meeting. (WKTV)
WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
The WKTV sports truck was on the road Wednesday night at the girls high school District 57 tournament at Wyoming Godwin Heights and, after the outcome of the early week tournament action, we have added the Friday, March 2, Class D District 98 finals at Wyoming Potter’s House Christian to our coverage schedule.
The 6 p.m. game will pit host Potter’s House (12-10 on the season) against West Michigan Lutheran (15-5). The two teams met previously this season, when Potter’s House won, 31-29, on Dec. 5, 2017. To get to the finals, Potter’s House defeated Holland Calvary, 37-27, on Monday; then defeated Tri-unity Christian, 25-22, on Wednesday. WML gained a bye in the first round and defeated Byron Center Zion Christian, 38-33, on Wednesday. The winner of the District 98 will move on to face the winner of District 99 in the Regional 25 bracket at Burr Oak.
The Potter’s House vs. WML game will be broadcast that night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 at 11 p.m. and repeated Saturday at 11 a.m., on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.
Repeats of the two semifinals games WKTV covered Wednesday, Feb. 28, Wyoming Kelloggsville vs. West Michigan Aviation Academy and Wyoming Godwin Heights vs. Grand Rapids South Christian, will be rebroadcast Saturday after the District 98, at about 12:30 p.m.
And check back on Monday, March 5, to see where the WKTV coverage crew will be as boys basketball district action starts.
All games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com .
The complete schedule of all local high school sports action, and for any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/
Riley Nguyen, a 17-year-old exchange student from Vietnam, with West Michigan Lutheran girls basketball coach Aaron Cochrill. (WKTV)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
West Michigan Lutheran, a very small high school in Wyoming, had five players available for its girls basketball team this season — what you call a really thin bench. But that was before an unlikely import from Southeast Asia joined girls basketball Coach Aaron Cochrill’s team.
For Riley Nguyen, a 17-year-old exchange student from Vietnam, playing on the team was just another way for her to fit in at her school and with her West Michigan host family — Darian Blanchard, the junior co-captain of the team, is her “home sister” in America.
For Cochrill, getting Riley to join was part being a basketball coach and part just being a teacher and mentor to students.
“What Riley brings to our team, first, is a bench — she is the sixth player,” Cochrill said. “But she is so intelligent, and she has a willingness, a ‘Whatever you want me to do coach, I’ll do it.’ So, against Aviation Academy, one of our starting point guards got in foul trouble early and we needed big minutes of her. I just said ‘Riley, it is your turn. Get in there.’ That is what she does, I ask her do something and she does it.”
Thing is, though, Riley really does not play basketball much back in Viet Nam, let along play at the level of American players, even at a small high school.
“I really like basketball, but I am a newbie,” she said. “So its takes a while to catch up with them. They are really good. The challenge is the skills I have to learn. That’s a lot. But the thing I enjoy the most is when I am out on the basketball court. I just go for it. Just do it.”
Riley Nguyen, left, with the rest of her West Michigan Lutheran girls basketball, getting some coaching from coach Aaron Cochrill. (WKTV)
Just going for it is also an apt way to describe what brought Riley to Western Michigan.
She is in America as part of the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP). Her real home is Tan An City, outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, with a four-member family including a father who works as an account/auditor. This is her family’s first experience in America.
Riley Nguyen
“I enjoy the new experiences here, the food, the people here,” she said. “I get to know so many people. There lifestyles is not like ours. I also (get to) know so many things about their cultures, too. I really enjoyed Christmas break here. You have Christmas break and spring break and summer break — actually, I think there are a lot of breaks here. … But I like it.”
There were also some challenges off the basketball court. “Sometimes I miss the food in my country. I am so used to Vietnamese food that, sometimes, I have belly ache. … But that is a minor problem.”
Her new “home sister” has been helping her, though, on and off the court. And they have developed quite a friendship, both say.
“I told Riley it is kind of like having a sleepover with your best friend everyday and I really enjoy it,” Darian said. “We really connected. Even before she came here, we were Skyping back and forth, and we found we had a lot in common, a lot of interests together.
Darian Blanchard
“Back home, Riley had a dance group that she was in, so we play games on the Wii, like ‘Just Dance’, a lot. … One of the fun parts about this is showing her everything. A different perspective, a different life. It has been really fun to see her go ‘This is so cool.’ … the look on her face when she sees food that is new, the look on her face is ‘Oh, my God. I cannot believe I have lived without this.’”
And then there is that Michigan State connection.
“I was so surprised, the first time I came here, and I talked to them,” Riley said. “ My dream college is Michigan State, and they are big fans of Michigan State. I was like ‘Ohhh. Yep, we were meant to be.’ We get along really well. They care about me a lot, little things like food, my sleep and stuff like that. Darian, my home sister, she takes care of me.”
And the relationship might not end with the end of this school year. Riley has applied for acceptance at Michigan State and should hear before the end of this school year.
Her American basketball career most assuredly ends with coming off the bench for the Mustangs, however. But coach Cochrill’s favorite story about Riley does show she has at least a little game.
“Our first game. She got fouled. She got to go to the line,” he said. “She made a free throw and she turns around and looks at me, a kind of look that says ‘Is that for real? Did that just happen?’ She kind of gets this grin on her face. … That is her personality to a tee.”
2016 graduation ceremonies kick off tomorrow and run through next week.
It’s May. The weather is finally warm. The flowers are blooming and it’s time for more than 1,500 students to take their final walk down the aisle to receive their high school diplomas.
In the Kentwood and Wyoming areas, there are 11 schools hosting graduation ceremonies within the next two weeks. Here is a rundown of dates and the top students for each school.
Starting out of the graduation ceremonies will be South Christian High, which will graduate 154 students Thursday, May 25. Graduation is set for 7 p.m. at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW. The school has three valedictorians: Joshua Boers, Colin Hartgerink and Nicolas Kuperus. The remaining students in the top ten are: Peyton DeRuiter, Lucy Dykhouse, Cassidy Huizinga, Hannah Koning, A.J. Samdal, Bradley Scholten and Alex VanKooten.
On Friday, May 26, both East Kentwood High School and Godfrey’s Lee High School will be hosting their 2016 graduation ceremonies. Lee High School has around 90 students walking down the aisle at 7 p.m. at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW, Grandville. Making up the 2016 Lee High School top ten are Leonardo Vallejo, Emily Fishman, Selena Knutson, Dino Rodas, Allison Fisher, Giselle Perez, Ivan Diaz, Alonso Lopez-Carrera, Alejandro Vargas and Oliver Lorenzo.
East Kentwood High School’s graduation isat 7 p.m. May 26 at the school’s stadium, 6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. The rain date is May 27. Making up the top ten are Andy Ly, Megan Callaghan, Makaela Dalley, Nolan Meister, Sara Anstey, Marilyn Padua, Tran Vo, Hao Nguyen, Venesa Haska, and Matthew Richer.
Tri-Unity High School and Wyoming High School will have graduation ceremonies on Tuesday, May 31.
Wyoming High School will have 265 students graduate at 7 p.m. May 31 at Grand Rapids First Church, 2100 44th St. SW. The top ten are Montana Earegood, Kayla Kornoelje, Stella Achiyan, Naomi Nguyen, Nhu Quynh, Christopher Hanson, Jada Haines, Rachel Bolt, Lazaro Cruz, and Kelly Gonzalez Diaz.
Tri-Unity Christian School will be graduating 17 students at 7 p.m. May 31 at Resurrection Life Church, 5100 Ivanrest Ave. SW, Grandville. The top two students for the class are Lisa McKelvey and Alissa VanderVeen.
Godwin High School has 126 students graduating on Wednesday, June 1. Graduation ceremonies are at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium, 50 35th St. SW. The valedictorian is Esteban Romero Herrera. The salutatorian is Taylor Jarrett. The rest of the top top are Ashley Soto, Sandra Rivera, Chloe Fritz, Amel Causevic, China Nguyen, Karen Barrose, Hector Zoleta and Alex Mosley.
Several area schools will be hosting graduation ceremonies on Thursday, June 2.
Kelloggsville High School’s 2016 graduation ceremonies are at 7 p.m. June 2 at Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park Ave. SW. The class has 140 students this year. The top ten are: Lan-Phuong Ton, Lucynda Pham, Kim-Ngan Nguyen, April M. Savickas, Shayla Huong Huynh, Ashley Duong, Chantal Lopez, Loc Tran, Michael Truong, and Sang Tran.
The Potters House will be graduating 44 students at 7 p.m. June 2 at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church, 1800 Plymouth Ave. SE., Grand Rapids. The valedictorian is Ashley VerBeek and the salutatorian is Emily Stout.
West Michigan Aviation Academy has 94 students in its 2016 graduating class. Graduation is at 7 p.m. June 2 at the school, 5363 44th St. SE. Making up the top ten are Abigail Kathleen Austin, Cindy Ngoc Ha, Connor Hendrik Hogan, Jonathan David Ketcham, Jason Thomas Kilgore, Hayley Elizabeth Latham, Jaxyn Bennett Ryks, Emily Ann Seykora, Samantha Rae Stuart, and Joshua Zane Vogeli.
West Michigan Lutheran High School is proud that its eight graduates will graduate with over a 3.0 GPA. The graduation baccalaureate service begins at 7 p.m. at the school, 601 36th St. SW, Wyoming. Valedictorian is Allison Klooster and salutatorian is Joshua Andree.
On Friday, June 3, Grand River Prep High School has 113 graduates for 2016. This year’s graduation is at 6:30 p.m. Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena, 3195 Knight Way SE. Class valedictorian is Christa Fernando. Salutatorians are Ajilan Potter and Megan Lawrence. The rest of the top ten include Victor Rojas Garcia, Samrawit Kahsay, Taitum Male, Julia Lammy, Antony Nguyen, Giselle Uwera, Mckenzie Male, Hai Truong and Kendall Garland.
Afif Gaibi escaped from Saddam Hussein’s tyranny as a teen.
Editor’s Note: As Citizen Journalists we make an effort to highlight the different experiences of people living in the Kentwood and Wyoming area. We teamed up with West Michigan Lutheran High School English students to focus on stories about individuals immigrating to the United States in search of a better life. The following story was written by one of those students giving their perspective of immigration.
by CJ Blanchard, West Michigan Lutheran High School
Afif Gaibi is the team leader for Oliver Products shipping and receiving department. I was able to interview him through my mom, who is a coworker of his. I am glad to have been able to sit down and talk with Afif because he shares many stories along with a good deal of knowledge. His life is quieter now, but in his younger years, it was far more dangerous than what most people in the states would experience.
As a teen, he lived in Kuwait. His father was from the Middle East while his mother was from India. This was crucial for their escape from Saddam Hussein’s tyranny and also the Gulf War. They fled to India, where Afif went to the University of Bombay to study.
Before he came over to America to attend college, Afif traveled around the world, most notably England and Hong Kong. He was also able to land a job at MTV in Asia. Meanwhile his parents had other plans. They were not happy with him partying and having fun all the time, so they sent him off to America to learn. It was not hard for him to adapt to American culture because he had always watched American television growing up and learned English in his grade school.
He first landed in Atlanta in 1996. He lived there for a bit before traveling to Oregon and then finally, Michigan. In Michigan, he attended Davenport University after a long distance cousin was able to set him up with a scholarship. He majored in Science and earned a bachelor in electronics, both of which he has never used.
Afif has not stopped traveling and doesn’t plan to in the future. He believes knowledge is power, and that traveling has opened many doors for him, physically, mentally, and spiritually. “Everyone has the same direction, just different paths,” he says adding that without religion as the center of your life, you are lost.
Along with traveling and enlightening himself with religion and knowledge, he enjoys his favorite things, which are motorcycles, country music, and baseball. His advice to anyone who wants to travel like he does is pretty simple.
“You have to have it personally inside you. Be ready to learn and want to go and actually do it. Have a positive mentality and use others to inspire you, because traveling changes you, and your perspective, for the better,” he explains.
