Photo: Gadsden City High School senior Uche Osuji signed s volleyball scholarship with Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology on April 20. Pictured, from left: brother Kenechi, sister Tochi, mom Anne, dad Ferdinand. (Not pictured: sister Udo) (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
In addition to her many academic and athletic accomplishments during her high school career, Uche Osuji officially made history for her soon-to-be alma mater.
On April 20, the Gadsden City High School senior became the first GCHS student to sign a collegiate volleyball scholarship.
Osuji will attend Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
“It feels kind of unreal, because if you told me that I’d be here a few years ago, I would have thought you were joking,” she said. “It’s really amazing, and I want to thank all of my coaches, teammates and my family for helping me get to this point.”
The 2022 Fightin’ Engineers went 14-12 overall and 5-4 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“[Rose-Hulman] is the No. 1 institution for undergraduate engineering, which is what I plan on studying,” said Osuji. “The campus is really nice, and because it’s an institute of technology, all the people there seem to have the mentality of not playing around and getting higher than where they are right now.”
Osuji finished her senior season with 369 kills, 95 blocks and 19 aces.
“It didn’t take long for me to realize what kind of player Uche was,” said GCHS volleyball coach Amanda Lewis. “She was a real model of an athlete and a teammate that we all want to have. She’s a great kid who really exudes what it takes to be a collegiate athlete, both on and off the court. I know that Uche has very high expectations for herself, and I know that she’ll do great in whatever she does.”
Osuji credited Lewis for preparing her to play at the next level.
“Coach Lewis really made me improve my mentality. I just wasn’t really strong in that area, and she made me believe that even though the score might be 24 to 4, I just couldn’t let them get that last point (to win). You have to fight until the match is over.”
“With Uche, what you see is what you get, which is a beautiful person inside and out,” said GCHS Principal Kevin Young. “She does everything the right way, which is a testament to her family. She the type of person you want to have on your team, and speaking as a principal of a school, she’s the type of student that you want in your classroom.”