Transitioning Turner means positive influence for Newark High School
NEWARK ― For as much as she's moved around, Riannah Turner could easily complain.
However, negative thinking is not in the vernacular of the Newark graduate. In fact, she said the many transitions have helped make her who she is.
"I grew up in Columbus, attended Groveport from grades one through eight, was at Newark my freshman and sophomore years, Marion-Franklin as a junior, then came back to Newark my senior year," Turner explained. "I'm very thankful for what I have been through, getting through high school, and being able to graduate is under-appreciated. I'm grateful for the people I've met and the opportunities I've had."
She took her opportunity as a peer leader for SOS (Sources Of Strength) at Newark and ran with it.
"I learned about it through friends, got an invitation, and I've loved it ever since," Turner said. "It's one of the best programs I've ever been a part of. Being able to be heard, and enabling other people to be heard. My friend group has always been very loving and supportive. There's no animosity or hatred."
Newark counselor and SOS advisor Scott Koebel said Turner emerged as a leader with the program.
"She's really taken to it and is really persistent about mental health awareness," he said. "She's always positive, with a can-do attitude, about whatever challenges she's facing. She presented to the high school staff and teachers, and she was phenomenal. A couple of teachers who don't even know her talked about how impressed they were."
The teachers who do know her are excited about her future. She plans to join the Air Force National Guard to pay for her education at Kent State University, renowned for the fashion design program she plans on entering.
Her high school English teacher, Kim O'Dell, called Turner creative, inquisuitive, stubborn, daring, compassionate and bold.
"Riannah knows no strangers, and is willing to learn about others and their thoughts, and most importantly curious to learn more about the world to grow her own," O'Dell said. "She has a deep passion for style, fashion and statement. She wears what she wants, and will tell you why."
O'Dell said Turner has natural leadership and the charisma to draw others to her and her causes and enthusiasms.
"She wants to climb up and not wait for a hand out, and her positivity and radiant smile are hard to resist," she said. "Riannah has had her own challenges and ladders to climb in life, and has made the choices to move her ahead. I wish her success in the years ahead and can't wait to see her name in print, or lights, or wherever it pops up."
Freshman English teacher Lynn Mason said Riannah embodies the idea of "perseverance with a smile" in that she keeps moving forward and she always has a warm and genuine greeting for those around her.
"When I first met Riannah in ninth grade, she came in lacking some knowledge of the types of writing that she needed to know how to do for the end of course exams," Mason said. "As the year progressed, she was very open to learning and practicing, and in the weeks leading up to the test, Riannah was more than willing to write an extra paper that wasn't graded so that she could practice once more and get more feedback. That type of 'educational willingness' and the grit that she has to keep tackling challenging tasks is rarer than one might imagine."
Turner has a beautiful ability to gather those around her into a big, warm "figurative hug" and make their day a little brighter, Mason added. "She doesn't know a stranger and if she does meet a stranger, they aren't one for long because she invites camaraderie.
"Riannah truly is such a worthy young person who has overcome a great deal of adversity and still manages to shine," Mason said.
Newark principal Tom Bowman noted that Turner is also involved in the JROTC program, where she furthers her leadership skills. She carries a 3.619 GPA.
"In a word, she's awesome," Bowman said. "She really, truly cares about other individuals, which is kind of rare these days. The girl never has a bad day."
Turner has managed to stay close with her family, although father Cliff Turner and mother Amanda Tracy are no longer together. She lived with her dad in the Columbus area a lot of her life but also with her mom in Newark. She has a brother, Kadden Mobley, on her mom's side. On her dad's side, she has brothers Chamen Turner and Lrenz Messick and sister Shaytica Messick.
A cheerleader for 10 years in her younger days, Turner has worked at Dairy Isle, Chipotle and Kroger. She tends to take challenges head on.
"It was a challenge, going from a Columbus city school (Marion-Franklin) back to Newark," she said. "There was definitely an academic difference, but it was a good challenge."
She faces another one joining the Air Force National Guard.
"I do have to lose some weight," Turner admitted. "But it's manageable. I'll give it my all, like I do everything else."
O'Dell offered a prediction for the future.
"Riannah Turner is the kind of young woman we will all someday be reading about in a trade magazine, award website or some such news," she said.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Transitioning Turner means positive influence for Newark High School
