Parrish has eyes set on own ‘hoops dreams’
Vina High School’s Andria Parrish has certainly found her niche during her time in high school.
The 17-year-old senior has been involved in several clubs including Students Against Destructive Decisions, Leo Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and FCS, but at the end of the day, her heart truly lies with one extracurricular activity: basketball.
Parrish has been a captain of the girls’ basketball team each year of high school and has won numerous awards, including Best Offensive Player for the 2010-2011 season, Best Free Throw Percentage for 2009-2010 and she was named to the Franklin County All Star team.
Parrish said that her time spent on the court is probably the most memorable thing about her high school experience and she’ll be sad to leave that behind once she graduates in May.
“Of course the games have been memorable, but our practices have been memorable, too,” she said. I’ve made so many memories, especially with Fallyn and Shelby, over the six years we’ve played and I’ll really miss that after high school. Our team is really just like a big family.”
Parrish said the close-knit friendships she has made with her basketball teammates were inevitable at a small school like Vina where everyone gets to know each other.
“I’ve gone to Vina all my life and that’s actually what I like about the school is that it’s small,” she said. “I feel like you learn more because there are fewer students in each class and you really get to know the teachers and the principal. That’s something I’ll miss, too, when I graduate.”
Even though there are things about high school she’ll miss, Parrish is looking forward to college because she’s going to be able to continue dribbling up and down the court thanks to the four-year basketball scholarship she received from Judson College in Marion.
“I’m very excited about my scholarship and the fact I’ll get to play basketball for four more years,” she said. “It will be different not having all my teammates from high school, but it will be a fun, new experience.”
While she is at Judson, Parrish plans to major in pre-med and then enroll in medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to pursue a career as a pediatrician.
“I really love kids, especially my three-year-old niece, Abigail,” Parrish said. “She was really sick when she was a baby, so that’s what made me decided I wanted to be a pediatrician. I really think I will enjoy getting to help children and make them feel better.”
If all goes as planned, Parrish said she would like to live and work in the Birmingham area where her older brother, Brandon, now lives.
“I’ve enjoyed growing up in a small community, but I’m definitely ready to be in a bigger city,” she said. “In 10 years, I’d love to be living in Birmingham, working at Children’s Hospital, and be married with maybe one kid by that point. That’s just where I can see myself headed.”
Parrish may be ready for the lights of the big city, but she said she would miss her family back home so she knew that no matter where she ended up, she’d always come back to visit her mom and dad, Terry and Gail Parrish; her sister, Jennifer Fuller; and her niece.
“High school has been a great experience and I would just tell anyone coming into high school that you should work hard for what you want and never give up. Just push yourself and you’ll go far.”
