Opp High School’s Haley Vendetti receives Bryant-Jordan Student Achievement Award

STORY COURTESY OF JOSH BEAN/AHSAA

Opp High School’s Haley Vendetti was named the recipient of the statewide Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Foundation’s Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Student Achievement Award during the organization’s 40th annual athlete awards banquet held at the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom in Birmingham Monday night.

Haley Vendetti

Vendetti penned a poignant personal essay for the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship, powerfully describing loneliness and isolation caused by her often chaotic and unpredictable family situation.

Vendetti and her mother survived a horrific car crash in 2014 that claimed the lives of her stepfather and two younger siblings. In the aftermath, Vendetti said her mother slipped into the grip of depression and addiction, leading to Haley living a life of constant uncertainty as she ping-ponged between living with each parent and bouncing from school to school for nearly a decade.

“My ceiling became the only thing that truly saw me — silent, still and unwavering,” she wrote in her Bryant-Jordan essay. “It was the one constant in a world that I felt full of people, but devoid of connection.”

Vendetti attended schools in Florida and South Carolina. She also lived for a time with her father in Mobile. She arrived at Opp as a high school freshman after attending schools in Andalusia, Pleasant Home and Straughn, as well as Fleeta Junior High in Opp.

How does Haley describe her journey? “Really stressful, I will say that!” she said. “It’s stressful trying to take care of yourself.”

Haley’s ability to persevere despite the lack of the normal parental support is a big reason she was named the Class 4A, Region 2 Award recipient and one of 52 regional winners in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Achievement category, which honors high school athletes who have overcome personal adversity. She and other regional winners, all of whom earn a $3,000 scholarship, were honored at the 40th annual Bryant-Jordan Awards Banquet.

Vendetti received the Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Student-Achievement Award as the overall state achievement winner. As a Class 4A and overall winner, she receives an additional $7,500 scholarship.

A total of 104 high school senior student-athletes — 52 in the program’s achievement category and 52 in the scholar-athlete category — were nominated by their schools and selected as regional winners. More than $12 million in scholarship funds has been distributed to student recipients by the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program since its inception in 1986.

“If the point of this scholarship is to help change the life of a student who has overcome adversity, Haley is the true definition of why this scholarship is needed,” Opp teacher Abby Presley wrote in a support letter to the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program.

Vendetti remains reluctant to share many details, describing a strained relationship with both of her parents. Once she arrived at Opp, however, Vendetti began to find the security and connection she craved.

First, she moved in with a friend near the end of the eighth grade and lived there for two years, and she has been living with her boyfriend and his parents for little more than a year.

With her living situation stabilized, Vendetti played tennis and excelled in cross country at Opp, twice running in the AHSAA Cross Country Championships. She picked up a series of part-time jobs to pay for her own expenses, and she currently works in the after-school program at W.S. Harlan Elementary in Florala.

She initially planned to run cross country at Gulf Coast (Florida) State College, but has since opted to concentrate solely on her academic career. She plans to study sonography at Gulf Coast and hopes to eventually work in a medical clinic that specializes in pediatrics or obstetrics.

“The more and more I’ve learned about her story and the more and more I’ve seen her grow and the more and more I’ve seen her mature, I’ve seen her be an inspiration for people around her, even for old folks like me,” Opp Principal Matt Blake said. “The word that really comes to mind that epitomizes Haley is persistence. She has overcome a lot in her life. She has been very persistent to not let the obstacles in her life define her but rather take the initiative to define who and what she is based on her own decisions.”

Few people know about Vendetti’s personal struggles because she hardly ever shares the details with others.

Vendetti uses her family turmoil as motivation to chase her dreams of going to college and living a successful life. That attitude, Blake said, is what makes Vendetti special.

“She is a humble person. She is a hard-working person,” he said. “She doesn’t want pity, doesn’t want someone feeling sorry for her, and she doesn’t want quote-unquote handouts because of the obstacles she’s overcome. She’s a goal-oriented individual who wants to get the things she gets in life on merit.”

What has Vendetti learned through her years of adversity? “It was definitely something rough to go through, but there are always people who have it 10 times worse. That’s my outlook,” Vendetti said. “I always tell myself that somebody out there is having it worse, or somebody out there has it 10 times worse than I have.”

Described by her teachers and coaches as an encourager and uplifter with a kind word to say to someone when the most need it, Vendetti said she found inner strength when she needed it most.

“I think I truly would be okay when I was able to look back and realize I had the fortitude,” she said. “So many have helped me along the way. I am really thankful for everyone who has supported me”

A total of 104 high school regional senior honorees were recognized and awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships through the Bryant-Jordan program.