By Je’Don Holloway-Talley | For The Birmingham Times

Nia Brown’s drive off the court is just as smooth as it is on.

On an overcast Saturday afternoon in mid-August, she drives to Hoover High School, in Hoover, Alabama, in a small SUV with her parents in tow for a photo shoot ahead of an interview with The Birmingham Times. As she pulls up, the rain-swollen clouds and darkened skies begin a light drizzle.

Most weekends, Brown—a shooting guard on the state champion Hoover Lady Bucs basketball team—takes the 10-minute drive from her house to the school gym to practice for the upcoming season.

During the week, her drive as a student-leader is full throttle. Brown, who has a 4.235 GPA and is involved in several extracurricular activities, was elected in March to be the first African American female Student Government Association (SGA) president at Hoover High School just outside of Birmingham and began her term this semester. It is a historic achievement she proudly embraces.

“As SGA president, I want to create a legacy of inclusivity and innovation,” she told The Times. “We are trying to make this year special and push forward into a new era, implementing new programming while still honoring our traditions. I want to leave Hoover [High School] better than it was. Hoover is already an amazing place, but I want my impact to make it better for the people coming behind me.”

Becoming SGA president at Alabama’s largest high school, which opened its doors 30 years ago, was not easy. The process involved campaigning, garnering teacher recommendations, participating in a group interview process, and writing an essay about her leadership qualities and experience. Brown’s favorite part was creating campaign videos using popular TikTok trends to reach her peers.

Campaign Strategy

“I did mine based on the ‘Of Course’ TikTok trend. I went around to different people at the school and got different [friends, members of student body organizations, clubs, and sports teams] to say, ‘Of course, I’m voting for Nia Brown [followed by] reasons why they wanted to vote for me. After that, I gave examples of why I was a good candidate,” she said in her interview with The Times.

“You can’t hand out [campaign materials] at school because they don’t want you to sway anyone’s vote, so the majority of [my campaigning] was done through social media. I made mini-campaign videos that I posted every day until election day last spring, in March,” she added.

Brown ran against one other student, but candidates are not told the percentage of the vote they earned, a policy that’s in place to protect the other individual’s feelings.

Like most people running for elected office at any level in these times, Brown faced criticism.

“I’ve definitely had to deal with a lot of hate on social media,” she said. “There were some people at school who didn’t want me to succeed, [and] it was hard hearing about the talk my friends would hear in their classes. People would say, ‘Nia doesn’t need to win’ or ‘Nia doesn’t need to be in this leadership position.’ At times it shook my confidence, but I pulled myself out of it and kept striving.”

Brown served as SGA secretary at Brocks Gap Middle School in Hoover and said she always knew she wanted to be SGA president at Hoover High.

“My vice president, Madison Turner, and I went to the school library every day and looked through the yearbooks [from 1994, when the school opened, to the current year] to confirm that I am the first Black female SGA president. … My vice president is a Black female, too, and there are two other Black females on our leadership board: Briana Harvey, our publicity coordinator, and Bailey Cox, our parliamentarian.”

Well-Rounded Leader

The 17-year-old senior is a portrait of a well-rounded leader, scholar, and athlete. In addition to assuming her role as this year’s SGA president, the second-year varsity basketball player has a 4.235 GPA and does community service, balancing academic excellence with athletic prowess.

This is about “personal development and leadership growth for me,” said Brown, who has a resume that includes membership in the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, in addition to being part of the Hoover High School Law Academy and the Alabama Youth Legislature Conference, among other activities.

Brown’s day begins with basketball workouts at 6:30 a.m. three times a week. Her first class, Advanced Placement (AP) Literature, begins at 9:25 a.m. She then heads to a forensics class, SGA, and Law Academy, which occupy her day until 2 p.m. She then has a two-hour window before ending the day with an afternoon scrimmage practice, which is held twice weekly.

“Sometimes I have meetings for the Law Academy Leadership, SGA, or [Parent, Teacher, Student Officer (PTSO) Organization]. I do homework before practice, so I can rest when I get home and not have to stay up late to complete it,” she said. “On weekends, I go to the gym for shooting practice [on Saturdays] and work at [the nursery for Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, where I] keep the children in the toddler classroom entertained while their parents attend the main service in the sanctuary on Sundays.”

She also attends services with her family at The Worship Center Christian Church Derby campus, in Birmingham.

“I alternate Sundays, working [at Briarwood Presbyterian] on some and attending church with my family on others,” said Brown.

Balancing a demanding schedule requires planning and time management skills that the high school senior has honed over the years. She surrounds herself with like-minded friends who share her commitment to excellence and personal growth, whether on the basketball court, in the classroom, or serving the community.

“When I’m free, I like to hang out with my friends, I like to go to the movies, I love to shop. … Mainly, the things that I’m part of, I just find friends there. I try to be friends with people whose ideals align with mine, who are going to keep me grounded and help me stay on the right path,” she said. “My best friends are on the basketball team, so I see them every day. My other friends are all part of the SGA, so I see them all the time.”

Brown credits sports with instilling discipline, sportsmanship, and a drive for success.

“No one ever has to tell me to get up for practice, finish my homework, or handle my responsibilities because of how disciplined I am,” said Brown, a standout shooting guard on the varsity basketball team. “Sports have taught me how to take a loss without being disrespectful and have motivated me to do better.”

On the Lawyer Track

Inspired by her love for crime podcasts and participation in the Hoover High Law Academy and its Mock Trial class and competition team, the AP honor student envisions a career in law.

“I want to eventually become a lawyer, so when I got to Hoover and realized they had a law academy, I knew I had to do it—and I loved it. I also have a bit of an obsession with crime podcasts, specifically one called “Crime Junkie.” I started listening to it during [the COVID-19 pandemic], and I haven’t been able to stop since,” she said.

Brown added, “My parents always say I like to debate them and that I’m really good at arguing, so I took that and ran with it.”

Her father, Booker Brown, recalled a moment when Nia, at just 13, created a PowerPoint presentation to persuade her parents to allow her on social media.

“Her mother and I decided that if [Nia] wanted it, she had to do a presentation on the pros and cons of social media, … and [she] did a PowerPoint presentation in front of the family,” Booker Brown recalled. “She presented it on the big screen TV. It had about 10 to 13 slides, and it was pretty impressive. From that point, it stood out that Nia was able to argue and present her point. … She even brought her auntie in as a character witness. Needless to say, we allowed her to be on social media.”

As a freshman at Hoover High School, Brown joined the Mock Trial team and competed for the first time last year during her junior year. Brown said she enjoys the rush she gets from cross-examining at the witness stand.

“I love getting to choose my team and being able to work with my best friends. I love it when I get up to the stand and am asking the witness questions and they’re not prepared and don’t know anything about the case,” she said. “I love the look on their face when they’re like, ‘Oh shoot, I don’t know how to answer that.’ Then they’re silent and make something up. That’s when I’m like, ‘Oh, I got you.’ That happened a lot last year, and it’s probably my favorite thing.”

Brown still hasn’t settled on which area of law she’d like to pursue, she told The Birmingham Times.

“I’ve changed my mind so many times,” she said. “When I first wanted to become a lawyer, I was really big on family law and dealing with adoption because I’m a nurturing person and I love kids. If I go into any type of family law, I want to make sure all kids have a home, love, and family. That’s something I’m really passionate about, but I’ve also been thinking I want to do something a little more interesting and engaging, so I was thinking about entertainment law, and criminal law.”

In addition to studying law, Brown added, “I’m thinking I will study political science and communications just in case I don’t want to go to law school. I could use that degree for something else.”

Family

Brown attributes her drive to her parents, Khalilah Brown M.D., who serves as the vice president of medical affairs at Southern Research, and her father, Booker Brown, who works as a case management leader for ATI Physical Therapy, covering its southeast division.

“My parents are big on being a leader, especially in my community, and making a difference,” Nia Brown said. “They want me to give 110 percent in everything that I do.”

The Hoover High School SGA president is also inspired by her sister, Imani Lewis, 30 who attended North Carolina Agricultural Technical State University (NCATSU), where she earned a degree in biomedical engineering, and works for the U.S. military as a mechanical engineer.

“I’ve always been impressed about how smart my sister is,” Brown said. “She’s accomplished so much, and she inspires me to do the same. She strives to be the best at everything she does and wants to make the world a better place.”

Emulating her family is another thing that drives Nia Brown, and it fuels her desire to make a difference at Hoover High School—and beyond.

“I know I want to make a difference,” she said. “I want to be able to look back and know that I made a difference and made the world better for somebody who looks like me.”

Sportsmanship as a way of life

Sportsmanship is not just a word for Brown; it’s a way of life.

From her time as a gymnast, dancer, and cheerleader in grade school and middle school to her current role as a shooting guard on the Lady Bucs varsity basketball team, she has learned to value the importance of respecting opponents, supporting teammates, and maintaining composure, even in the face of defeat.

“Being an athlete not only taught me how to be a good competitor but it also taught me how to be a leader,” she said. “My competitive spirit is what drives me to be successful and work hard to win and accomplish my goals,” said Brown, was elected in March to be the school’s first African American female Student Government Association (SGA) president and began her term this semester.

“Sports have taught me how to take a loss without being disrespectful and also motivates me to do better. I love to win but I know that it’s not always about the win, it’s about the lessons that the loss teaches you.”

Sports have also made her more aware of other people’s emotions and lives, she said. “Since I’ve had to be on teams with so many different people, I know how to interact with different groups,” said the 17-year-old senior.

On junior varsity, her teammates voted her team captain two years in a row. “I think I’m really a people person, they were saying that I was someone they could come to with their problems and they trusted me, and I think it was that trust that got me [appointed].”

Some of Brown’s recognitions include the 4.0 Cumulative GPA Award 2021-2024; Community Service Award 2021-2024; Distinguished Young Woman of Jefferson County Class of 2025; and Golden Gavel Award for Outstanding Law Academy 2 Student 2023.

Brown’s also been nominated for a BUCS Character and Finley Award, which honors students are nominated for by their teachers for outstanding character and leadership.

“My [10th-grade math teacher, Diane Baker] told me why she nominated me because one of my classmates has seizures and we’re also basketball teammates so we’re really good friends, but every time she has a seizure in our math class I’ll take her outside and sit with her for the rest of our class, and my math teacher said it’s really selfless of me to take time out of my learning schedule to help her.”

A quick look around the Brown household in Hoover is more proof of Brown’s drive.

She estimates a total of 14 medals; 11 trophies across her basketball, dance, gymnastics, and cheer career; countless scholastic ribbons, certificates, and honors; 4 AAU rings Amateur Athletic Union], and one state ring with the Lady Bucs varsity basketball team.

“Some of [my awards/trophies] are in my living room. I have this big spinning thing in my bedroom and I put my trophies, medals, and my rings in it, and we have a board downstairs that has all of my achievements,” she said.

Her father Booker Brown referred to the corkboard in their downstairs in-home gym as the ‘Family Wall of Champions Board. “We’ve run out of space, we’re literally pinning things on top of each other. Our oldest daughter, Imani’s [achievements] are still up there, so we just continue to pin more things on top of it,” he said.