By Hunter Reed
Hard work, humility, respect and high energy. These are words that many strive to be associated with, but for one Delta High School athlete, these words are a way of life.
This high school athlete can often be seen walking through the halls with a bright smile that radiates onto anyone who sees it.
Senior Elizabeth Bamidele can be seen energizing others around her on a regular basis.
Former girls’ basketball head coach Tyronda Benning has high praise for one of the team’s key players.
“Elizabeth is a very genuine, hardworking, grateful, passionate, respectful, and highly intelligent person,” Benning said. “(It) doesn’t matter what Elizabeth chooses to do and the path she will take, she will always stand out as a leader in that area.”
Elizabeth is known for far more than just her love of basketball. Another main component of Elizabeth is her humility.
This was perhaps most evident after she recently won the Lilly Endowment Scholarship, which is a prestigious scholarship awarded to just two seniors in every Indiana county.
The scholarship pays full tuition to any Indiana four-year college.
Her tennis teammate, senior Rowan Hinds, said that Elizabeth never really talked about the accomplishment.
However, her humility goes deeper than just not bragging about winning the Lilly Scholarship
Last season Elizabeth played number one singles in tennis for Delta and won 15 matches. But according to tennis head coach Tim Cleland, she is never one to go around bragging about her position on the team.
“In some matches she would lose personally and the team would win and she didn’t let that get to her,” Cleland said. “She would still be a strong leader and enjoy the team victory and not get too wrapped up in the fact that maybe she played a great player and didn’t personally win.”
More than her humility, her faith in Jesus Christ has also continued to remain evident.
“I believe we weren’t put on this earth to just serve ourselves,” Bamidele said. “And seeing that and Jesus’ life and how He reflected that in His walk has just really inspired me. He was so selfless, and why am I so selfish sometimes?”
Another aspect about Elizabeth that stands out is her lively energy.
Her basketball and tennis teammate, senior Olivia Marshall, believes that Elizabeth’s energy helps so much.
“If you know Elizabeth Bamidele then you are just a blessed person, because you walk into a room and she just lights it up,” Marshall said.
Elizabeth has even stepped up to be a leader on the basketball team with senior Addison Barnes, who transferred in from Yorktown before her junior year.
“So first, instilling that championship culture into me, like, when I’m struggling or making mistakes, she’s very much on me and making sure that I’m figuring things out,” Barnes said. “She’s just led me to really understand the team dynamic and how we work.”
Elizabeth has seen much success these last few years at Delta from her achievements in sports and academics.
However in the eyes of Elizabeth all of this would not be possible without God, her teammates, parents and coaches.
“First and foremost, my success comes from the Lord and for Him allowing me to have those opportunities,” Bamidele said. “Then secondly, the people in my life, Coach Cleland, Tyronda Benning, all my teammates and just my parents and my family who invest so much time into me. They really showed me how I could do it, and they’ve set an example and a leadership and a love and compassion that I can rise to.”
As for her future she plans to go to Purdue University to study civil engineering.
After graduating from Purdue she wants to continue to serve people in any way she can and she plans to travel the world.
These plans may now be easier for her since the Lilly Scholarship will be worth more than $50,000 over her four years of college.
For Elizabeth when she found out that she won the Lilly Scholarship she was shocked. She said she was called to the office where she thought maybe she was in trouble and then found out that she won the Lilly.
For Elizabeth, going to Purdue has been a dream of hers since when she was young. As for why she wants to study engineering, she thanks her teachers while in high school.
“In high school, I took a lot of engineering classes or Project Lead the Way with Mr. Griffis and Mr. Curry,” Bamidele said. “And that just really cultivated my love for civil engineering. And last year in Mr. Griffis’s class, we had a civil engineering class, and we just built a lot of projects. He (helped me discover) my love for civil engineering. So I think that’s a way for me to continue his memory, but also, I really do love helping people and using my hands and using my brain, and I think that’s what engineering and civil engineering encompasses.”
Another component of Elizabeth is her academics.
Math and science teacher Mr. Robert Summer has seen Elizabeth be hard working in his physics class.
“She’s very dedicated,” Summer said. “She gets everything done frequently without any delay. She puts in the effort to get assistance when she needs it, but she’s so good at what she does”.
Elizabeth’s economics teacher, Mrs. Holly Hopkins, recalls a time in which Elizabeth made her laugh.
“I had to laugh because one day she was looking for an economics paper, and I was kind of surprised at her filing system, because she files them all together,” Hopkins said. “But she eventually found it. I always had her as this separate folder type of person.”
At least there is some room for improvement, but still Elizabeth is on a journey toward success in her future.
