Staying strong

No obstacle placed in front of Sam Nichols, big or small, critical or trivial, has proved too much to handle.

She’s been through the fire of adversity more than once and has emerged each time with a perspective on life uncommon for someone her age and a willingness to use those experiences to benefit those in need. She has kept her head down, persevered and built an immense amount of character in the process.

Nichols, a senior at Homewood High School, is a stellar student, a multi-sport athlete and a daughter that impresses fellow teammates, coaches, teachers and family members each day.

Fighting through loss

Nichols walked into the halls of Homewood High School as a freshman with the world at her fingertips. The adjustment to a new school was going well, and her spot on the junior varsity volleyball team had been quickly secured.

She was selected as a team captain and earned a starting spot as the team’s libero, two things she “was so proud of.” A great season would follow, she thought. 

But in just the third week of school, her dad passed away due to illness, putting a halt to all of that. At least tangibly, Nichols had lost her biggest fan.

“My dad was constantly there,” Nichols said. “He was there at almost every sporting event my entire life.”

Nichols’ father played a large role in why she felt comfort in her new environment as a freshman. There was nothing she couldn’t do, according to her father, and that inspired her with confidence.

“He showed me how strong I am and smart I am, and he’s pushed me to be a stronger and smarter person,” she said. “When he doesn’t think I’m going to my full potential, he’ll tell me.”

Unfortunately, when Nichols returned to school, things weren’t the same.

A microcosm of life

After a week out of school, Nichols came back with a determination summoned from within. She was not going to throw a drawn-out pity party. She planned to take the raw emotions of losing her father and channel them in a positive direction.

“When I came back, we had a game that Friday,” Nichols said. “I told myself I was going to go back, and I was going to [play] because I’m not a quitter. I’m going to get back into it as soon as I get there.”

But reality set in when Nichols learned that she had lost her starting job and placement as captain. The team was forced to move in a different direction with her absence because the season had already begun. Even as she worked to earn those distinctions once again, the season passed without them returning to their initial owner.

“The whole season, I was working so hard to get that back, and when it didn’t come back, I was kind of upset,” she said.

Nichols said she thought about quitting after her freshman season, but that wouldn’t be like her. Once again, she put her nose to the grindstone and decided she was going to play each match the rest of her high school career in honor of her father. 

In just over a year’s time, she had earned a starting role as libero on the varsity team prior to her junior year, her first opportunity with the top squad. She also made the varsity soccer team as a junior and plans to play once again this spring.

“My junior year, when I was on varsity my first year, and Coach [Carol] Chesnutt told me I was going to be libero, it was a big thing, and I knew how far I had come and my hard work had paid off,” Nichols said.

There are certainly parallels in the lessons Nichols learned through volleyball and through the passing of her father.

“I definitely see it,” Nichols said. “When I was a freshman, I got things taken away from me. You don’t get everything you want in life, no matter how bad I wanted that.”

Now in her senior season, Nichols has become a critical leader for first-year coach Krimson White.

“What really makes Sam who Sam is, is her maturity about all things that happen,” White said. “That makes a heck of a difference when you have three freshmen on varsity.”

The day that Nichols plays her last match, along with fellow volleyball seniors Erin Beasley and Michia Robinson, is not a day White looks forward to.

“It’ll be hard to let her go, because you never know if you’ll get that back,” White said. “She’s helped me with my first year of coaching more than she knows because of her leadership and her maturity.”

Helping others

The loss of her father was not the first time Nichols had experienced a trial involving one of her parents. When she was in second grade, she watched as her mom, Barbara, battled and defeated breast cancer. 

“It definitely had a huge impact on me, seeing her overcome that and just become a stronger woman,” Sam Nichols said.

Sam Nichols has looked for ways to honor her mother ever since. Barbara Nichols has a charm bracelet that has a bead added to it each year following her victory over cancer. A coworker initially purchased the bracelet, but Sam Nichols has proudly taken over the duty of purchasing the additional memento each year.

“She has done an incredible job coming through that,” Barbara Nichols said of her daughter. “She is one who called upon her faith, her friends and her family.”

This fall marked the 10-year anniversary for Barbara Nichols, and Sam Nichols had an idea. She organized for the entire volleyball program at Homewood to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct. 7. The team put forth a goal of raising $1,500 for the event, a benchmark that was met.

For Sam Nichols, organizing that effort and running the race was a time to think about how the experiences in her life came together to allow her to grow and display the type of leadership not many have. 

It makes her mother’s heart swell.

“My first thought is a huge smile,” Barbara Nichols said. “Then tears of joy. It’s very cool. It’s very emotional. She wants to make a difference, and obviously, it’s near and dear to my heart, too. That’s one of those things I will treasure.”

Homewood’s Margaret Blalock volleyball tournament is held each October and honors those afflicted by breast cancer. Sam Nichols was even a finalist for the scholarship award presented by the tournament each year. 

“There’s not anything more I could ask out of her,” Barbara Nichols said.