2008 Woodie Awards
Destined for success
Leah Frey
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Campus
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Fudge is a junior, has attended all three years at OU, is involved in many different clubs and activities around campus, and has managed to keep a 3.6 GPA in her pursuit of a degree in sociology and human services.
Fudge is co-captain of both the cheerleading and dance squads.
"Nijah helped the transition for me by gathering both the cheerleaders and dance members because of how previously active she was on both squads," Alex Shaw, cheerleading and dance coach, said. "She's been a big help."
Fudge was born in Omaha, Neb., and then moved to Denver, Col., when she was three. She was raised by her mother and father in Colorado until middle school, when her parents divorced.
It was just Fudge and her mother from then forward, but it wasn't easy. She changed schools twice during middle school and then four times in high school.
Fudge's mother moved to Oklahoma in the middle of her junior year of high school but continued sending money for rent and bills so that she wouldn't have to make a difficult mid-semester switch.
"It was so nerve-racking by the end of my junior year. I was so ready to go join my mother in Oklahoma," Fudge said. "I remember my mother showing up unexpectedly to move me to Oklahoma, all my friends came over and we just cried and cried. I could barely stomach it."
Fudge doesn't feel like she grew up either poor or rich, though money did get tight when her parents divorced, prompting her to contribute to the family income when she could.
She eventually turned to dance as something more than just recreation after years of dancing for fun with friends, where they would make up dances to their favorite songs and perform them later for their parents.
"I started dancing when I was around eight, but just for fun," Fudge said, embarrassed. "Then I started taking dance seriously in early high school."
During her junior year of high school, Fudge and some friends got together and created their own dance team.
The team continued to grow and get better, so much so that by the end of her senior year there were 25 steady members.
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