Kennedi Maleah Nichols is a senior at Buford High School. She was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but moved to Huntsville, Alabama, at a young age. She was raised in Huntsville, but her family then relocated to Buford when she was 14. Kennedi started her years at Buford as a freshman in high school in the 2017-2018 school year, and she is set to graduate from high school in spring 2021. Kennedi looks up to her two older sisters who have graduated high school.
Kennedi is very active in the arts at BHS. She participates in the musical theatre and dance programs. In musical theatre, Kennedi is a leader for younger students as a Buford High School Senior Thespian officer. As an officer, she organizes thespian meetings and helps to introduce different aspects of the theatre to new thespians. She helps young students to discover and grow their love for all kinds of theatre, from improv, to drama, to musicals. In addition to her role as a thespian officer, Kennedi is a back-to-back One Act State Champion in Musical Theatre. She was featured with a principal role in the show “Company” as a sophomore, and she appeared in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” last year in her junior year.
In addition to her activity in the arts, Kennedi flexes her extensive trivia knowledge as a captain of the Buford High School Quiz Bowl Team. She was the team captain in her junior year when the team appeared on WSB-TV’s competitive high school trivia program, “High Q.”
In her free time, Kennedi likes to sing, dance and play piano. She also enjoys baking and fishing. Kennedi shows her creative side, as in the past few months, she has had a growing affinity for making videos on TikTok.
“They allow me to be creative and do whatever I want,” she said of the videos.
During the summer, Kennedi stays busy as she works as a camp counselor at Bogan Park in Buford.
Kennedi is a top-tier student at Buford. She carries a GPA of 3.9, and she is enrolled in multiple AP classes. Her favorite subject in school is science. She said she enjoys learning explanations about why the world works the way it does.
Outside of class, Kennedi enjoys watching shows and videos that explain weird things that she experiences every day, such as the science behind yawning. Her favorite class she has taken in high school is AP psychology because it combines science and humanity in an interesting way. She said she has always loved to learn about behavioral patterns and to observe people and how their minds work. Kennedi loves AP psychology because she enjoys learning about the explanations for why people act the way that they do.
When asked who her favorite teacher is at BHS, Kennedi said she could not pick just one. She said she deeply appreciates every one of the teachers and staff members who have dedicated themselves to the success of their students and supported Kennedi in her endeavors.
After she graduates from high school, Kennedi hopes to study theatre at Michigan University. Her ideal pathway would be to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and pursue a career as a professional screen or stage actor. She is also interested in a degree in health care, which would cater to her love of science and psychology. Kennedi is set to have a great senior year at Buford, and she will certainly have plenty of success beyond Buford High School.
The Buford City Schools Student of the Week spotlight is made possible by the generosity of the City of Buford.
